From Insider To Rival: Zetwerk Sues Ayr Energy Over Alleged Data Misuse

B2B manufacturing startup Zetwerk and its subsidiaries Zetwerk Manufacturing USA Inc and Unimacts Global, LLC have filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Harris County, Texas against a former executive for allegedly building a rival venture using confidential data of the unicorn.

The petition has named former Ayr Energy Inc and its founder and former Zetwerk employee Anirudh Reddy Edla as defendants. 

Zetwerk has alleged trade secret misappropriation and breach of fiduciary duty by Ayr, along with unfair competition within the renewable energy supply chain market. It has asked the court for temporary and permanent orders to stop misappropriation as well as use of its trade secrets and confidential information. 

“Such relief requested includes an injunction against Ayr and its agents, servants, employees, directors, or officers from using any of plaintiffs’ confidential information or trade secrets and further requiring them to destroy or return all of Plaintiffs’ confidential information or trade secrets,” the petition says. 

Inc42 has seen a copy of the petition. Zetwerk didn’t respond to Inc42’s queries. 

What’s The Case About? 

Zetwerk has invoked the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, alleging that Ayr knowingly participated in and benefited from the breaches. The petition says that Ayr benefited over $77 Mn using Zetwerk’s customer contacts.

“Plaintiffs calculate nearly $77 Mn in lost customer contracts. Plaintiffs assert that the amount of money Ayr has thus far obtained from improper use of Zetwerk’s trade secret and confidential information will far exceed $100 Mn,” the petition reads. 

According to the court filing, Edla incorporated Ayr Energy in September 2024 while still serving as an executive at Zetwerk. In the months leading up to his resignation in January 2025, Edla allegedly downloaded hundreds of internal documents from Zetwerk systems, including client lists, pricing models, and strategic plans.

“The story is a classic example of the studied and planned construction of a new business using impermissible means to steal work from the founder’s former employer,” the petition says. 

By the time Elda left, Ayr was already being set up to compete in the same domain-manufacturing components for renewable energy projects, such as transformers and solar piles. The petition further alleges that soon after incorporation, Ayr began onboarding Zetwerk’s clients.

The lawsuit claims that Ayr’s success, reportedly over $250 Mn in contracted orders within months, stemmed from the unauthorised use of Zetwerk’s trade secrets.

“Within months of Edla’s and (Chad) Stuckey’s departure, Ayr secured over $250 Mn in contracted orders—a fact it trumpeted in a September 3, 2025, press release. Ayr’s overnight success is an unprecedented achievement for a new market entrant in the power grid equipment 22 sector. Many of these orders came from customers who had previously been in Plaintiffs’ sales pipeline or who had existing relationships with Zetwerk and Unimacts,” the filing states. 

The petition alleges that Ayr recruited several key Zetwerk employees, including Chad Stuckey, who allegedly brought with him further confidential data and business relationships. It states that Ayr’s entry into the market led to tens of millions of dollars in lost contracts for Zetwerk and Unimacts.

“… current Ayr employee and former Unimacts employee Chad Stuckey, who was supported by Zetwerk’s inside sales team, was instrumental in developing this transformer business line at Zetwerk before Ayr misappropriated it by hiringStuckey and using Plaintiffs’ trade secrets and confidential information in Stuckey’s possession,” the filing reads.

Notably, Stuckey was a former employee of Unimacts, which was acquired by Zetwerk via Zetwerk USA in 2022.

What Does Ayr Do?

Ayr is a full-stack manufacturer and supplier of critical power grid infrastructure, including power transformers, distribution transformers, special-purpose transformers, switchgear, and high-voltage circuit breakers. 

According to Zetwerk, these are the same categories of products and services it provides to renewable energy developers, utilities, and industrial clients.

Edla publicly stated that the company is designed to solve the same supply chain and

infrastructure challenges that Zetwerk specialises in addressing, Zetwerk has argued in its petition.

Ayr raised $3.5 Mn in a seed round in April from General Catalyst. 

Meanwhile, Zetwerk was founded in 2018 by Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Amrit Acharya, Rahul Sharma, and Vishal Chaudhary. It is a manufacturing and supply chain solutions company

that operates more than 100 production facilities across the US, Germany, Spain, Vietnam, India, and Mexico. It serves industries like energy and renewable energy, aerospace, defense, automotive, electronics, and industrial OEMs.

Zetwerk joined the unicorn club in 2021. It has raised a total funding of over $700 Mn to date and counts the likes of Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed, Mars Growth Capital, among others, as its backers. It is currently preparing for its IPO.