HR software company Rippling filed a lawsuit on August 10, 2026, accusing MCP gateway startup Runlayer of infringing on three of its patents. The filing is a direct response to a lawsuit Runlayer filed the previous month, in which the startup accused Rippling of breach of contract and stealing its product ideas.
The dispute stems from a nearly year-long trial period during which Rippling tested Runlayer’s MCP product. The two companies never agreed on a price or signed a paid contract. Rippling subsequently built its own MCP server, which it plans to offer as a commercial product competing directly with Runlayer.
Runlayer, founded by Andrew Berman — whose previous ventures include baby-monitor company Nanit and AI video conferencing tool Vowel, which was acquired by Zapier in 2024 — launched its product roughly a year ago and has raised $42 million in total funding. Its platform bundles an MCP gateway with cybersecurity features such as threat detection. MCP is an open standard that enables AI agents to connect with external data and software systems.
Among the more pointed details in Runlayer’s original lawsuit is a claim that a Rippling employee contacted Berman to warn him that Rippling was building a “copy” of his product. A Rippling spokesperson told TechCrunch that the employee has since revised that view.
Runlayer characterized Rippling’s patent suit as retaliatory. “This is a desperate, retaliatory ploy to distract from the fact Rippling misappropriated our proprietary technology,” Berman said in a written statement. Rippling’s spokesperson fired back, saying Runlayer had “manufactured claims” against Rippling while “repeatedly copying Rippling’s inventions.”
The dueling lawsuits may serve as a warning for both startups and enterprise buyers. As AI tools make in-house development faster and more accessible, enterprises may put a startup’s product through extended trials before ultimately choosing to build their own competing solution.
Source: TechCrunch