US prosecutors indict ex-Google software engineer for stealing AI secrets to benefit Chinese employers

Linwei Ding, a former Google engineer, has been accused by US prosecutors of stealing AI trade secrets to benefit two Chinese companies. The Chinese national faces a 14-count indictment with charges of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.

For every economic espionage charge he is convicted of, Ding could face a maximum of 15 years in prison and be forced to pay a $5 million fine. Each trade secret charge attracts a maximum of one decade and a $250,000 fine. The case is US v. Ding, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-cr-00141.

The allegations against Linwei Ding 

On Tuesday, February 4, US prosecutors revealed an extended 14-count indictment that accused Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer, of stealing trade secrets that could benefit two Chinese companies that had been bankrolling him. 

He allegedly stole confidential files related to Google’s AI hardware and software, which should have enhanced Google’s competitive edge against rivals like Amazon and Microsoft.

The 38-year-old Ding has been charged by a federal grand jury in San Francisco with seven counts each of economic espionage and trade secrets thefts. 

Ding was indicted in March last year on four counts of theft of trade secrets but is free on bond. His lawyers have not offered any information about the whole affair and have not commented as of the time of this publication. 

Ding’s case is being handled by the US District Court in Northern California. According to court records documenting a December 18 hearing, prosecutors and defense lawyers discussed a “potential resolution” to Ding’s case “but anticipate the matter proceeding to trial.”

The case is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force, which was put together in 2023 to prevent advanced technology from being acquired by nations like China and Russia or potentially threatening national security. 

Former Google employee turned after Chinese recruitment 

Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, is a Chinese national who joined Google in May 2019. He allegedly turned and began to steal trade secrets in 2022 while he was being recruited by a Chinese tech startup.

According to prosecutors, the information Ding stole contained key details about the hardware infrastructure and software platform that lets Google’s supercomputing data centers train large AI models.

Some of the allegedly stolen data included chip blueprints that could have reduced Google’s dependence on chips from Nvidia and given it an edge over its cloud computing rivals, Amazon.com and Microsoft, who are known to design their own.

By May of 2023, Linwei Ding had reportedly uploaded more than 1,000 confidential files and later circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of a China startup he founded, claiming the country’s policies encouraged the development of a domestic AI industry.

Google has not been charged, and the company cooperated with law enforcement during investigations. 

This setback is only one of the latest the tech giant is facing. It is also currently dealing with antitrust investigations that are being led by the aggrieved Chinese administration in response to Donald Trump’s insistence on tariffs. 

The President signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, triggering chaos in the financial global markets as the countries affected reeled from the news and subsequently took responsive action. 

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