Hyperconverged infrastructure provider Nutanix has filed a lawsuit accusing its competitor, database-as-a-service startup Tessell of willful copyright and patent infringement, including theft of Nutanix’s source code and intellectual property.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, alleges that Tessell’s three founders — Bala Kuchibhotla, Kamaldeep Khanuja and Bakul Banthia — used Nutanix's resources, source code and proprietary technology to develop Tessell's competing database management platform while employed at Nutanix.

Founded in 2021, Tessell is a database-as-a-service company offering a data infrastructure and management platform for cloud-based enterprises. It has raised $34 million in funding over a Series A round on Nov 30, 2022, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

According to Nutanix’s 24-page complaint, one of its products named Nutanix Era is a database software management product. Kuchibhotla was GM and senior VP of the Era business and Khanuja and Banthia were senior engineers.

Nutanix alleged that Kuchibhotla, Khanuja and Banthia (KKB) “used Nutanix facilities, equipment, services, and even the Nutanix Era source code when developing the Tessell product. KKB planned, developed, obtained initial financing for, and demonstrated prototypes of the competing product—all using Nutanix computers and while they were employed by Nutanix,” according to the complaint.

It added that the Era source code, owned by Nutanix, including contributions from KKB, is protected under U.S. copyright laws.

According to the complaint, Kuchibhotla formed the Tessell entity less than 24 hours after he and Khanuja “abruptly departed Nutanix together” on March 23, 2021, and the startup launched its product in late 2022.

“The speed with which it came to market with features strikingly similar to Era caused Nutanix to commence a full-fledged forensic investigation. As a result, Nutanix uncovered the theft of proprietary code and technology,” the company wrote in the complaint.

Nutanix wrote in the complaint that Tessell’s copyright and patent infringement is “knowing and willful.”

“Tessell’s ongoing interference with Nutanix’s contractual rights has been carried out by fraud and concealment,” the company wrote. “Nutanix is entitled, subject to proof, to its actual damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits, declaratory and injunctive relief, enhanced damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, an accounting, and any such other relief as the Court may deem proper.”