Zia Chishti accused of stealing Affinity tech secrets

February 14, 2023 (MLN): Bermuda-based artificial intelligence firm Afiniti has accused its former founder, Zia Chishti, of stealing its technology and trade secrets to set up his own rival company in China, as per news reports.

The lawsuit claims that Chishti, who left Afiniti in 2021 after facing sexual assault allegations, took source code and other confidential information with him when he resigned. Afiniti alleges that Chishti refused to relinquish his company computer, and has since gone on to establish his own companies in Pakistan and China, offering technology to state-backed firms, including China Mobile.

Afiniti, which was once valued at over $1 billion, has high-profile advisers and directors, including Princess Beatrice, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and former US defense chief Mike Mullen, on its payroll. The company's technology is sold to customer service departments of firms such as AT&T, Sky, and Virgin Media, to more efficiently match call center staff with customers.

Afiniti alleges that Chishti's new entities "targeted and hired Afiniti employees with specific knowledge of Afiniti trade secrets and operations," setting up in the same office as its former Chinese operation and copying its logo.

Chishti, who made a fortune as the inventor of Invisalign dental braces, denies the allegations of theft, stating that "Afiniti's allegations are detached from reality."

In December, Chishti and his wife, Sarah Pobereskin, launched defamation proceedings against Tatiana Spottiswoode, the former employee who gave evidence to the US House of Representatives that Chishti had assaulted her while on a work trip. Following the public revelations in Congress, Chishti was forced to step down from Afiniti.

Ms. Spottiswoode had been awarded more than $5 million in a secret arbitration process.

Afiniti's lawsuit claims that Chishti "conspired with his wife, Sarah Pobereskin, and others to set up an array of companies based in China, Pakistan, and elsewhere to improperly convert and commercially exploit Afiniti Trade Secrets."

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