It turned out Leonardo was pursuing some project of his own and required large sums to fund his "great work." He was too interested in privacy to sell his advanced technology directly, but he was willing to trade it to a corporation like Renraku for the money he needed. The megacorporation had originally intended to destroy Leonardo’s facility to eliminate the threat he posed, but after hearing the report of their agent and seeing the technology the elf had at his command, Renraku saw the advantages of an alliance with the eccentric elf.