30.01.2026 23:50
A federal court in the U.S. announced that former Google software engineer Linwei Ding was found guilty of unlawfully obtaining high-precision artificial intelligence trade secrets and providing them for use by China-based technology companies. The decision is seen as one of the most striking examples in the fight against economic espionage in the rapidly growing AI sector.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that former Google software engineer Linwei Ding was found guilty by a federal jury for stealing trade secrets related to artificial intelligence (AI) technology to benefit Chinese technology companies. This decision marks the first significant conviction in the U.S. for economic espionage related to artificial intelligence.
JURY CONVICTED ON 14 CHARGES
In an 11-day federal trial in San Francisco, 38-year-old Ding was found guilty of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of trade secret theft. According to prosecutors, Ding stole thousands of pages of the most confidential AI documents from Google to benefit two China-based technology companies.
MORE THAN 2,000 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS STOLEN
It was determined that between May 2022 and April 2023, Ding unlawfully uploaded documents containing critical AI trade secrets, such as Google's supercomputer infrastructure, proprietary Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), and graphics processing software, to his personal accounts. The stolen information was used to provide advantages to companies he established or was associated with in China.
LINK TO AI VENTURE IN CHINA
The prosecution stated that while Ding was still employed at Google, he established secret relationships with two China-based technology companies and appointed himself as the CEO of one of them. It was reported that Ding told investors he planned to copy and develop Google's technology at these companies.
SEVERE PENALTY THREAT
Each count of economic espionage carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison and hefty fines, while each count of trade secret theft carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Ding's sentencing hearing is expected to be clarified in the coming process; the next hearing is scheduled for February 3, 2026.
U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that the decision sends a clear message against domestic threats targeting sensitive data for foreign interests, aimed at protecting the country's technological competitiveness. Google announced that it cooperated during the investigation process.