A former Google engineer sentenced to 18 months in prison is among those pardoned by US President Donald Trump as he leaves office.
Anthony Levandowski stole information about self-driving cars before setting up autonomous lorry company Otto.
The pardon was supported by Silicon Valley figures including investor Peter Thiel and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, BBC reported.
At the time of sentencing, in August, the judge said it was "the biggest trade-secret crime I have ever seen".
But Judge Alsup also called Levandowski "a brilliant, ground-breaking engineer that our country needs".
