A Delaware jury unanimously ruled that Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) misappropriated trade secrets belonging to C3.ai Inc. (NYSE: AI) and awarded the enterprise AI software company $23.3 million in damages on May 19.

C3 AI filed the lawsuit in November 2023 after discovering the alleged misappropriation when a Cummins employee inadvertently shared internal meeting notes documenting the Columbus, Indiana-based company's actions. The jury's verdict followed a trial in Delaware Superior Court.

According to C3 AI's press release, the company attempted to resolve the matter before litigation, including sending a formal demand letter and agreeing to meet twice with Cummins management. Cummins cancelled both scheduled meetings and did not return calls from C3 AI.

"The jurors heard the evidence, applied the law, and unanimously concluded that Cummins misappropriated C3 AI's trade secrets," said Thomas M. Siebel, C3 AI's chairman and chief executive officer.

The verdict comes after the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement with Cummins in December 2023 requiring the company to pay $1.675 billion to settle claims that it unlawfully altered hundreds of thousands of engines to bypass emissions tests over the past decade, violating the Clean Air Act.

C3 AI develops enterprise AI application software including the C3 Agentic AI Platform and industry-specific software applications. Cummins manufactures engines and power generation equipment.