Google moonshot spinout SandboxAQ says ex-exec wants ‘takeover’

The former CEO of SandboxAQ filed a wrongful-death lawsuit last month full of such accusations against the company’s CEO, Jack Hidary, that the singer described as extremely offensive.

On Friday, the company’s attorneys responded harshly, calling the employee a “massive liar” and that her lawsuit “alleged falsehoods for improper and fraudulent purposes.”

Although the visible parts of the lawsuits – which TechCrunch has found – have raised eyebrows, the court will find them valid. (A A copy of the case is available here.)

The case provides a rare inside look at how labor lawsuits can air dirty laundry from less-than-seen internal affairs, due to controversial privacy violations in Silicon Valley labor contracts.

The lawsuit was filed by Robert Bender in mid-December. Bender served as Chief of Staff to Hidary from August 2024 to July 2025, the complaint states. He contends in his suit that he was wrongfully terminated after raising numerous concerns about what he says were incidents, some of which, he says, were “sexual” and some of which, he says, involved false financial information provided to investors.

For its part, SandboxAQ strongly disputes the claims. The company’s attorney Orin Snyder, a well-known partner at white-shoe law firm Gibson Dunn, tells TechCrunch: “This lawsuit is just bogus.

What makes this case so popular is the number of Valley activists involved in SandboxAQ. The company is an AI quantum computing startup that began as a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, led by Google and Hidary. Hidary is also well known in Silicon Valley as a long-time X Prize board member.

SandboxAQ was floated in Alphabet as an independent company in March 2022 with Hidary as CEO and soon attracted big-name investors, including billionaires and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who invested and became the founding chairman. Other billionaire investors include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, and Bridgewater hedge fund founder Ray Dalio.

Bender’s lawyers also reported another court document that the revised sections “discuss sexuality and non-party perceptions of business travel.” In other words, what is being said includes people that Bender is not against. This is an unusual move – usually, it’s the party being sued who asks for restitution, not the person making the claim.

Various explanations exist for such a strategy, and TechCrunch has not been able to determine the motivations for this. In many cases, the possibilities range from protecting some innocent people who have not been charged with a crime, to a diversionary strategy – indicating that damaging information can be revealed if the accused do not enter a legal plea.

An unredacted portion of the indictment provides more details about what was withheld: Bender alleges that Hidary used company assets and investor money to “solicit, transport, and entertain female partners.” In the included text message from Bender, he mentions prostitutes.

Bender also claims in his suit that Hidary sold millions of his shares at inflated prices based on what Bender says were misleading figures presented to potential investors. He said that the amount given to the board was reduced by 50% compared to what is shown in the presentation to the candidates.

SandboxAQ lawyers strongly oppose all of the above. “The company did not disclose fraud to investors regarding the award of tenders or other procedures. The CEO did not misuse the company’s assets. The plaintiff initiated these proceedings to make a valid complaint and protect himself from the consequences of his wrongdoing.”

Mr. Bender, for his part, says the company has been trying to smear him. His complaint states that he brought his case, “because his dismissal was followed by a vicious campaign to destroy his reputation.”

While the facts of these cases are for a judge to decide, much of what they say is consistent with the SandboxAQ investigative report published by The Information in July.

Sources told The Information that Hidary used the company’s equipment to fly the women he was dating on company jets, and that the company’s earnings were minimal. Bender cites the Story of Knowledge in his lawsuit but denies that he was its source. SandboxAQ says he was the source and is lying about his involvement. (A copy of all of SandboxAQ’s corporate responses, including the employee’s extensive comments, may be available found here.)

Despite all the controversy, big-name investors were eager to sell the company last year. In April, SandboxAQ earned $450 million in Series E funding from Ray Dalio, Horizon Kinetics, BNP Paribas, Google, and Nvidia.

SandboxAQ as well announced a second sale for $90 million. SandboxAQ has raised $1 billion in total, it doesand is worth $5.75 billion, according to PitchBook estimates.