A former Google software engineer, Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, has been convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco for stealing sensitive artificial intelligence trade secrets for China. Ding, 38, was found guilty on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets after a trial before US District Judge Vince Chhabria. Prosecutors revealed that Ding stole thousands of pages of confidential AI-related information from Google while pursuing China-linked technology ventures.
The conviction marks the first-ever case of AI-related economic espionage charges in the US. Ding exploited his access to Google’s internal systems to steal over 2,000 pages of confidential information between May 2022 and April 2023. He uploaded the stolen material to his personal Google Cloud account and later downloaded it to his personal computer before resigning from the company. Ding was found to have aligned himself with two China-based technology companies while still employed at Google.
During his tenure at Google, Ding discussed potential roles with Chinese firms and eventually founded his own AI and machine learning company in China. He falsely claimed in investor presentations that he could replicate Google’s technology to build an AI supercomputer. The stolen trade secrets primarily focused on hardware and software related to Google’s data centers for training and operating large AI models.
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Ding sought support from the Chinese government by applying for a government-sponsored talent program in Shanghai. FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani emphasized the importance of protecting innovation and stated that Ding faces potential prison sentences of up to 10 years on each theft count and up to 15 years on each espionage count. Ding is scheduled to appear for a status conference on February 3, 2026.
