Rippling Countersues Runlayer Over Three MCP Technology Patents
Rippling says Runlayer infringed three patents, escalating a fight over an MCP trial, alleged idea theft and Rippling's planned competing AI product launch.
Summary
On Monday, August 10, 2026, HR startup Rippling sued MCP gateway startup Runlayer, alleging infringement of three patents. Runlayer sued Rippling in July for alleged contract breach and theft of product ideas after Rippling tested its software for nearly a year. The companies never agreed on price, no paid contract followed, and Rippling built an MCP server it plans to sell against Runlayer, continuing its practice of commercializing internal tools, including the recently released AI Spend Console.
Runlayer launched about a year ago, has raised $42 million, and combines an MCP gateway with threat detection and other cybersecurity features. MCP is an open standard connecting autonomous AI agents to data and software. Founder Andrew Berman previously founded baby monitor maker Nanit and AI videoconferencing tool Vowel, which Zapier acquired in 2024. Rippling was among Runlayer’s earliest prospective customers. Runlayer says a Rippling employee warned Berman that Rippling was building a copy, although Rippling says the employee later revised that assessment. Rippling says it notified Runlayer about the allegedly infringed patents soon after Runlayer filed suit. Berman called the countersuit retaliatory and denied the patents relate to Runlayer’s AI product; Rippling accused Runlayer of repeatedly copying its inventions and using manufactured claims to obscure business failures. Courts must resolve the contract and intellectual property allegations unless the companies settle, while the dispute warns startups that lengthy enterprise AI trials can produce in-house rivals instead of sales.
Positives
- Runlayer has raised $42 million for its MCP gateway and cybersecurity platform.
- Rippling plans to commercialize its internally developed MCP server, as it previously did with AI Spend Console.
- Runlayer combines MCP connectivity with threat detection and other cybersecurity capabilities.
- MCP gives AI agents an open standard for connecting with the data and software required for independent work.
Risks & concerns
- Rippling alleges Runlayer infringed three patents, adding a second lawsuit to the companies’ dispute.
- Runlayer accuses Rippling of breaching its contract and taking product ideas after a trial lasting nearly a year.
- No paid contract emerged because Rippling and Runlayer never agreed on a price.
- Runlayer says a Rippling employee warned that Rippling was building a copy, although Rippling says the employee revised that view.
- The competing lawsuits expose startups to the risk that prospective enterprise customers may test products before building internal competitors.