How Stalking and Harassment Allegations Fractured a Semiconductor Startup

In March last year, the former girlfriend of Erik Hosler—then the CEO of semiconductor manufacturing startup xLight—applied for a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing Hosler of stalking and harassing her. A judge in California had already granted a temporary order, and when xLight learned of the dispute, it asked Hosler to step aside while it investigated the matter.

While similar allegations of misconduct have resulted in executives leaving their companies, this one didn’t—at least not initially. Even more unusual is the manner in which the matter came to light: as part of a lawsuit that an xLight co-founder, William Schumaker, filed against Hosler and xLight, accusing them of cheating him out of company stock.

Late last month, Schumaker included the details of Hosler’s conflict with his former girlfriend in a lawsuit he filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleged that xLight, after its investigation into the dispute in March 2023, found Hosler had breached his fiduciary duties to the company. The company then put Hosler on a leave of absence and named Schumaker as acting CEO.