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Ex-Google Engineer Convicted for Stealing AI Trade Secrets to Benefit China
In a landmark legal decision that highlights growing concerns over intellectual property theft in the tech sector, a U.S. federal jury in San Francisco has found former Google software engineer Linwei “Leon” Ding, 38, guilty on multiple serious charges related to the theft of artificial intelligence (AI) trade secrets for the benefit of entities linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The verdict, delivered after an 11-day trial before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, marks the first known conviction in the United States on AI-related economic espionage charges — a milestone in how the legal system is responding to the intersection of cutting-edge technology, national security, and corporate confidentiality.
The Crime and Conviction
Ding, who joined Google in 2019 as a software engineer working on supercomputing infrastructure for the company’s advanced AI projects, was convicted on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets. Prosecutors showed that between approximately May 2022 and April 2023, while still employed at the company, Ding illicitly copied and transmitted over 2,000 pages of highly confidential Google documents to personal accounts — including a Google Cloud account — without authorization.
The stolen material reportedly included detailed information on:
• Google’s custom AI hardware architectures, such as Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems.
• Core software platforms used to orchestrate and manage machine learning workloads across Google’s supercomputing data centers.
• Technical specifications for high-speed networking technology such as custom SmartNIC cards.
Prosecutors argued that Ding used his privileged access to essentially shortcut years of development work, giving foreign competitors insights into some of Google’s most sensitive AI infrastructure technology.
Affiliations with China and Motive
While employed at Google, Ding allegedly secretly affiliated himself with two China-based technology companies. In mid-2022, he held discussions to become chief technology officer of an early-stage Chinese firm and soon after founded his own AI startup — Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co. — positioning himself as CEO.
Court evidence showed that Ding told potential investors he could replicate Google’s AI supercomputing capabilities using the stolen trade secrets. He also applied for a Shanghai government-sponsored “talent program,” stating his intention to help China achieve computing power infrastructure on par with global leaders — an indication of how these trade secrets might be used to advance competitive ambitions abroad.
National Security and Legal Significance
Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI stressed the broader implications of the case. The theft of confidential AI technology not only threatens the economic competitiveness of U.S. companies but also carries national security implications, given the strategic importance of artificial intelligence in future technologies and defense systems.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg described the theft as a “calculated breach of trust” at a critical moment in AI development, while FBI counterintelligence leaders emphasized their commitment to protecting American technological innovations.
Potential Sentencing and Future Proceedings
Ding is scheduled to appear at a status conference on February 3, 2026, ahead of sentencing. If given the maximum penalties under U.S. law, he faces up to 15 years in prison for each count of economic espionage and 10 years for each count of theft of trade secrets, along with substantial fines.
The case reinforces the seriousness with which the U.S. legal system is beginning to treat the protection of AI and other advanced technologies, especially as global competition intensifies and concerns about the misuse of intellectual property — whether by foreign states, corporations, or individuals — grow ever more acute.
Attached is a news article regarding goggle engineer found guilty of releasing AI trades secrets in china
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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