Rippling accuses rival "unicorn" Deel of espionage
Rippling has sued rival payroll and HR unicorn Deel, accusing it of espionage.
Why it matters: Each company is valued north of $10 billion by big-name venture capital firms.
Zoom in: Rippling alleges in its complaint that Deel planted a mole inside of Rippling's Ireland office, and that it created a fake Slack channel as a "honeypot" to suss out the rogue employee.
Rippling adds that the effort was designed by Deel to steal customers, retain customers who were considering a switch, poach employees, and leak information to the media.
Rippling is being represented by Alex Spiro, an attorney known for his work with Elon Musk.
A Deel spokesperson declined comment, saying the company hadn't yet seen the suit.
The bottom line: This one is full of strange bedfellows.
Rippling is being represented by Alex Spiro, best known for his legal work with Elon Musk.
But Rippling is led by Parker Conrad, who was replaced as CEO of his prior startup, Zenefits, by David Sacks — a Musk confidant and fellow Trump White House advisor who's publicly savaged Conrad (and vice versa).
One of Deel's top backers in Andreessen Horowitz, which also has sent several members to Trump's White House and has backed Musk's recent business efforts.
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