Former Google engineer Linwei Ding was convicted in San Francisco of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets after an 11-day trial. Prosecutors say he stole thousands of pages of confidential hardware and software information used to train large AI models, including chip blueprints that could affect cloud computing competition. The case was handled by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force; a status conference is set for Feb 3.
Ex‑Google Engineer Linwei Ding Convicted of Stealing AI Trade Secrets for Chinese Firms
Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer, was convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to benefit two Chinese companies, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The 38-year-old Chinese national was found guilty after an 11-day trial on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets. Prosecutors say he removed thousands of pages of confidential material, including hardware designs and software platform details used to train large AI models in Google’s supercomputing data centers.
Charges and Potential Penalties
Each economic espionage conviction carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Each theft of trade secrets count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors' Allegations
Prosecutors say some of the allegedly stolen documents included chip blueprints intended to help Google maintain a competitive edge over cloud rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft—both of which design their own chips—and to reduce reliance on third-party suppliers such as Nvidia.
According to court filings, Ding joined Google in May 2019 and began removing confidential material in 2022, at a time when he was being courted to join an early-stage Chinese technology company. He was originally indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets; a superseding indictment filed in February broadened the charges.
Investigation and Case Coordination
The case was coordinated through the interagency Disruptive Technology Strike Force, established by the Biden administration in 2023 to address threats posed by the theft of sensitive U.S. technology. The Department of Justice said Ding is scheduled to appear at a status conference on February 3.
An attorney for Ding, who is also known as Leon Ding, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Google was not charged in the case and has said it cooperated with law enforcement; the company did not immediately reply to further requests for comment.
Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; additional reporting by Courtney Rozen; editing by Diane Craft.
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