Vast Data executive accused by NetApp of stealing company secrets
The cloud-storage giant claims its former CTO, Jonsi Stefansson, repackaged its intellectual property ahead of Vast’s acquisition of his startup.
A small acquisition could embroil the Israeli unicorn Vast Data in a lawsuit for industrial espionage at worst, or for failing to conduct proper due diligence at best. On September 9, the company, considered one of Israel’s most promising startups, issued a press release that read more like an appointment announcement than an acquisition. The release announced that Jonsi Stefansson, founder and CEO of Red Stapler, had joined Vast as General Manager of Cloud Solutions, along with his entire team.
Renen Hallak, founder and CEO of Vast, stated in the announcement: “The Red Stapler team brings a proven track record of designing and launching cloud-native services with leading hyperscalers. Their cloud control plane and service delivery platform helps enterprises burst seamlessly into public cloud environments with confidence. With Jonsi and team joining Vast, we gain proven expertise in working hand-in-hand with hyperscalers to deliver services that meet the demands of AI at global scale, and accelerate the path to a truly unified, multi-cloud data foundation.”
However, a lawsuit filed last week in Florida complicates the story. Notably, Vast itself is not named as a defendant. The lawsuit targets Stefansson, the former CTO and a senior vice president at NetApp, and claims that Red Stapler was only officially established on July 3, 2025, just two months before its sale to Vast.
The plaintiff, NetApp, a cloud storage giant and significant competitor of Vast, alleges that all technology and expertise Stefansson sold to Vast constitute NetApp’s intellectual property. NetApp was also Stefansson’s previous employer, which he left just days before founding Red Stapler. Following the lawsuit, NetApp obtained a restraining order preventing Stefansson from engaging in activities related to his former role at NetApp. This restriction effectively prevents him from fulfilling his responsibilities at Vast, where he was expected to promote storage solutions to cloud giants including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
The lawsuit emphasizes that Stefansson became a prominent figure in the cloud industry during his eight-year tenure at NetApp, which is publicly traded and valued at approximately $20 billion.
Evidence presented by NetApp includes a text message sent in January by a Vast director, also a former NetApp employee, to another NetApp retiree, stating: “Jonsi (Stefansson) is in.” Shortly thereafter, the same director sent a message with a picture of a red stapler, referencing the startup’s name, which itself alludes to the cult 1990s film Office Space.
Further evidence includes Slack correspondence from April between Stefansson and another employee, who later became the second-largest shareholder of Red Stapler. In the messages, Stefansson reportedly inquired about “everyone’s salary,” suggesting an attempt to recruit NetApp employees. NetApp also presented pre-existing files labeled “Red Stapler” containing software developments intended for the startup. Based on this evidence, NetApp contends that Red Stapler was built on copied NetApp technology and could not have developed its platform independently in the mere ten weeks before being acquired by Vast.
The story is further complicated by Stefansson’s actions following the lawsuit. He has not responded to the complaint, put his Orlando home up for sale, and left the United States for Iceland. His name does not appear on Vast’s list of senior employees. While Vast is not a defendant, the company could potentially be barred from using the intellectual property acquired from Red Stapler, leaving Stefansson’s future at the company uncertain.
The timing of the lawsuit is particularly sensitive for Vast, which is in the midst of raising a major capital round expected to value the company between $28 billion and $30 billion, with participation from major investors including Nvidia. Vast has declined to comment on the issue.
