IQ.Lvbs alleges rival Comma.ai-linked IP targeted its driving model

IQ.Lvbs says its systems faced repeated attempts to steal its NovaSpark driving model and access users’ devices and private files, and claims the first requests came from an IP address assigned to rival Comma.ai. The allegation matters because it raises questions about security and competition in the market for driving models, but the article presents it as IQ.Lvbs’s claim, not an established finding.

The startup says the attempts occurred from 7 to 14 October, after it introduced NovaSpark’s private beta in Comma.ai’s Discord channel on 3 October; its team and beta testers were later banned from Comma.ai-related Discord channels. Comma.ai CTO Harald Schäfer had questioned whether NovaSpark was derived from Comma.ai’s Rebellious Hope model, which IQ.Lvbs denies; neither Comma.ai nor Schäfer responded to requests for comment. IQ.Lvbs says it is reviewing legal options, while Comma.ai is separately under investigation by US road safety regulators over technology potentially linked to five crashes and three deaths.