Ex-Google engineer convicted of stealing AI secrets and techniques for startup in China; FBI says: Betrayed each America and Google by …

A federal jury in San Francisco this week convicted former Google software program engineer Linwei Ding, also referred to as Leon Ding, 38, on seven counts of financial espionage and 7 counts of theft of commerce secrets and techniques for stealing hundreds of pages of confidential info containing Google’s commerce secrets and techniques associated to synthetic intelligence expertise for the good thing about the Individuals’s Republic of China (PRC). The jury’s verdict follows an 11-day trial earlier than U.S. District Decide Vince Chhabria for the Northern District of California.“This conviction exposes a calculated breach of belief involving among the most superior AI expertise on the earth at a vital second in AI growth,” mentioned Assistant Legal professional Common for Nationwide Safety John A. Eisenberg. “Ding abused his privileged entry to steal AI commerce secrets and techniques whereas pursuing PRC government-aligned ventures. His duplicity put U.S. technological management and competitiveness in danger. I commend the trial group and investigators whose distinctive work resulted on this conviction.”“In right this moment’s high-stakes race to dominate the sector of synthetic intelligence, Linwei Ding betrayed each the U.S. and his employer by stealing commerce secrets and techniques about Google’s AI expertise on behalf of China’s authorities,” mentioned Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Not solely does this case mark the first-ever conviction on AI-related financial espionage fees, but it surely additionally demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering dedication to defending American companies from the more and more extreme menace China poses to our financial and nationwide safety. We stay dedicated to working intently with our companions throughout the non-public sector to guard our nation’s innovation, safeguard our commerce secrets and techniques, and maintain our international adversaries accountable.”“Silicon Valley is on the forefront of synthetic intelligence innovation, pioneering transformative work that drives financial progress and strengthens our nationwide safety. The jury delivered a transparent message right this moment that the theft of this invaluable expertise is not going to go unpunished. We’ll vigorously defend American mental capital from international pursuits that search to achieve an unfair aggressive benefit whereas placing our nationwide safety in danger,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California.“This conviction reinforces the FBI’s steadfast dedication to defending American innovation and nationwide safety. The theft and misuse of superior synthetic intelligence expertise for the good thing about the Individuals’s Republic of China threatens our technological edge and financial competitiveness,” mentioned FBI Particular Agent in Cost Sanjay Virmani for the San Francisco Subject Workplace. “The FBI San Francisco division serves Silicon Valley and the businesses who lead the world in innovation, and we’re dedicated to safeguarding their work. This case demonstrates the power of collaboration between the FBI and the non-public sector, together with main firms like Google, whose partnership is vital to defending delicate U.S. expertise. As we speak’s verdict affirms that federal regulation shall be enforced to guard our nation’s most respected applied sciences and maintain those that steal them accountable.”Ding was initially indicted in March 2024. A superseding indictment returned in February 2025 described seven classes of commerce secrets and techniques stolen by Ding and charged Ding with seven counts of financial espionage and 7 counts of theft of commerce secrets and techniques.In accordance with the proof introduced at trial, between roughly Might 2022 and April 2023, whereas a Google worker, Ding stole greater than two thousand pages of confidential info containing Google’s AI commerce secrets and techniques from Google’s community and uploaded them to his private Google Cloud account. Ding additionally secretly affiliated himself with two PRC-based expertise firms whereas he was employed by Google: round June 2022, Ding was in discussions to be the Chief Know-how Officer for an early-stage expertise firm primarily based within the PRC; by early 2023, Ding was within the means of founding his personal expertise firm within the PRC centered on AI and machine studying and was appearing as the corporate’s CEO. In a number of statements to potential traders, Ding claimed that he might construct an AI supercomputer by copying and modifying Google’s expertise. In December 2023, lower than two weeks earlier than he resigned from Google, Ding downloaded the stolen Google commerce secrets and techniques to his personal private laptop.The jury discovered that Ding stole commerce secrets and techniques referring to the {hardware} infrastructure and software program platforms that permit Google’s supercomputing knowledge middle to coach and serve giant AI fashions. The commerce secrets and techniques contained detailed details about the structure and performance of Google’s {custom} Tensor Processing Unit chips and techniques and Google’s Graphics Processing Unit techniques, the software program that enables the chips to speak and execute duties, and the software program that orchestrates hundreds of chips right into a supercomputer able to coaching and executing cutting-edge AI workloads. The commerce secrets and techniques additionally pertained to Google’s custom-designed SmartNIC, a kind of community interface card used to facilitate excessive velocity communication inside Google’s AI supercomputers and cloud networking merchandise.In displays to traders, Ding referred to as out the PRC’s nationwide insurance policies prioritizing AI growth and innovation within the PRC, and in late 2023 Ding utilized for a authorities sponsored “expertise plan” in Shanghai, PRC. The jury heard proof pertaining to the PRC authorities’s institution of expertise plans to encourage people to return to China to contribute to the PRC’s financial and technological progress. Ding’s utility for this expertise plan said that he deliberate to “assist China to have computing energy infrastructure capabilities which can be on par with the worldwide degree.” The proof at trial additionally confirmed that Ding supposed to profit two entities managed by the federal government of China by helping with the event of an AI supercomputer and collaborating on the analysis and growth of {custom} machine studying chips.Ding is subsequent scheduled to seem at a standing convention on Feb. 3, 2026. Ding faces a most sentence of 10 years in jail for every depend of theft of commerce secrets and techniques in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 and 15 years in jail for every depend of financial espionage in violation of 18 U.S.C § 1831. Any sentence following conviction can be imposed by the Court docket solely after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Tips and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Northern District of California Casey Boome, Molly Okay. Priedeman, and Roland Chang are prosecuting this case, with help from Veronica Hernandez and Trial Legal professional Yifei Zheng from the Counterintelligence and Export Management Part, Nationwide Safety Division. The prosecution is the results of an investigation by the FBI.