In a bid to protect its intellectual property and maintain its competitive edge, Afiniti, a prominent global technology company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions with a software development hub in Pakistan, has reportedly initiated legal proceedings against three Pakistan-based former employees.
Sources familiar with the matter have informed us that Afiniti has filed a case in the Sindh High Court, alleging that these individuals have misused confidential information, and that the Sindh High Court has issued a stay order restraining these individuals from using Afiniti’s confidential information.
Afiniti alleges that the three individuals named in the suit breached confidentiality, and have joined a rival AI solutions company called Isbei, thereby potentially jeopardizing Afiniti’s intellectual property especially given that Isbei’s solutions bear strong similarity to Afiniti’s. By pursuing legal action, Afiniti seeks to enforce its rights and mitigate any potential harm arising from the unauthorized use or dissemination of its proprietary information.
Afiniti was founded by the disgraced Pakistani-American billionaire, Zia Chishti – a prominent figure in the tech industry in Pakistan. Chishti served as the company’s CEO and Chairman before he stepped down following a highly publicized sexual misconduct arbitration brought against him by a former employee, and was ordered by the arbitrator to pay the ex-employee in excess of $5 million.
Since then, Chishti is rumored, according to the court filing and industry experts, to have set up a new company, Isbei, which employs several former Afiniti employees (including Isbei’s CEO). Interestingly, Isbei is marketing services similar to Afiniti’s to corporates in China.
If nothing else, Chishti’s name and the geo-political and cross-border implications add a layer of intrigue to the legal proceedings and will, no doubt, generate further interest in the case.
Afiniti was approached for a comment on the ongoing legal proceedings but opted not to provide a statement. Industry insiders, however, have noted that Afiniti seems to have implemented substantial measures to foster a new organizational culture following Zia Chishti’s departure
