Bitcoin mining software and services company Luxor has filed a lawsuit against a former employee and bitcoin mining infrastructure provider Giga Energy, alleging ‘systematic’ employee poaching and client interference leading to loss of business.
Per the complaint filed on January 30 in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington (Seattle), Luxor says that Giga poached two of its employees, Collin Kelly and Aaron Foster, and alleges the company purposely directed them to leverage their prior business relationships for Giga’s business despite this being in violation of the Luxor employee contracts. Luxor alleges it lost multiple clients to Giga through the efforts of its poached employees. The client names are redacted from the filing.
Similarly, Luxor is suing Aaron Foster for allegedly downloading contact information on 170 Luxor clients for use in Giga business development. The suit claims that Foster downloaded the client list on November 3, 2025, shortly before joining Giga at the end of December of the same year. Shortly thereafter, Foster began contacting Luxor clients “in an effort to divert their business from Luxor to Giga,” the complaint claims, further alleging that Foster tried to “[assist] Giga in soliciting additional Luxor employees to join Giga.”
Blockspace contacted Luxor’s legal counsel but did not hear back by press time. Blockspace also contacted Giga but did not hear back by press time. Foster declined to comment.
Luxor Tech is a top 10 Bitcoin mining pool by hash rate, and operates an ASIC sales service. Giga Energy operates in the data center infrastructure business, providing key components for electrical buildouts such as at Core Scientific’s (NASDAQ: CORZ) facilities.
Giga recruited Collin Kelly in February 2025, the suit says. It further alleges that Kelly was “successful in diverting sales of specialized computer hardware and other equipment” from eight Luxor clients, and that he allegedly tried to recruit three Luxor employees for Giga in a breach of non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses in his contract. Kelly is not listed in the suit as a defendant.
Prior to Kelly’s change in employment, the suit says that Giga’s first hire from Luxor was Matthew Lousteau, formerly a business development associate, in February 2024. After Giga hired Kelly, the suit says that Luxor CEO Nick Hansen wrote to Giga CEO Matt Lohstroh regarding Kelly and Lousteau’s hires, with Lohstroh allegedly replying:
“Can I promise we will never poach again? No. Should you be worried about this being a systemic issue, also no.”
Employment contingency
According to the suit, a former Giga employee allegedly told Luxor that “Giga co-founder Matt Lohstroh and other upper-level management at Giga had made it plain to Giga employees that their employment was contingent on them leveraging their prior relationships for Giga’s benefit, regardless of any post-employment obligations owed to their former employer.”
In the exhibits filed with the complaint, Luxor included alleged employment contracts for Kelly and Foster. The complaint highlights alleged non-solicitation clauses and confidentiality clauses, including a confidentiality clause which Luxor claims Foster violated with the alleged downloading of Luxor client information.
“I agree that Company information or documentation to which I have access during my employment, regardless of whether it contains Confidential Information, is the property of [Luxor] and cannot be downloaded or retained for my personal use or for any use that is outside the scope of my duties for Company,” the alleged clause in the contract reads.
Luxor is seeking injunctive relief against Giga and Foster, which includes enjoining the defendants from soliciting Luxor clients and prospective clients for one year, while also enjoining Foster from soliciting Luxor employees for one year. These injunctions, if enforced, would take place for one year after the court order, not from the time of Foster’s separation from Luxor.
Luxor is seeking monetary damages, plus attorney fees, from Foster for alleged breach of contract; from Giga and Foster for alleged violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the Washington Uniform Trade Secrets Act; and from Giga for alleged tortious interference for knowing the employees’ prior contractual obligation.
Disclosure: Blockspace Media maintains a commercial sponsorship arrangement with Luxor Tech, and Blockspace Editor-in-Chief Colin Harper holds an equity interest in Luxor from prior employment with the firm. However, coverage was not paid for by Luxor, nor did Luxor provide the information contained in this report.
