San Francisco, January 30, 2026, 05:43 PST
- Prosecutors announced that a federal jury found former Google engineer Linwei Ding guilty on 14 charges, including economic espionage
- Authorities report he transferred over 2,000 pages of sensitive AI chip and data-center documents to his personal accounts
- This case emerges as the U.S. intensifies efforts to crack down on sensitive technology theft tied to China, with sentencing still pending
A federal jury in San Francisco found former Google engineer Linwei Ding guilty Thursday of stealing the company’s AI trade secrets to aid firms linked to China, U.S. prosecutors announced. At 38, Ding was convicted on seven counts each of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets following an 11-day trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. 1
The verdict comes as Big Tech ramps up spending on AI systems reliant on rare, high-value expertise: chips, networking equipment, and the software that connects them. Legally, a “trade secret” refers to confidential business info that offers a competitive advantage; “economic espionage” is a U.S. charge for stealing those secrets to aid a foreign government.
Prosecutors presented the case as a key front in the broader battle over control of advanced computing, an area the U.S. now sees as both a commercial prize and a national security concern. In 2023, the Justice Department launched a multi-agency initiative aimed at cracking down on the theft of so-called “disruptive” technologies.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Ding acquired details on the hardware and software powering Google’s supercomputing data centers—those same systems responsible for training “large AI models,” the resource-intensive engines behind today’s chatbots and image generators. They claimed the stolen information revealed how Google constructs and operates the infrastructure essential for running these models.
The stolen data contained specifics about Google’s in-house Tensor Processing Unit chips, known as TPUs, optimized for AI tasks, along with information on graphics processing units (GPUs) used for intense computing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors added it also included software managing thousands of chips in an AI “supercomputer” and details on a custom “SmartNIC”—a network interface card engineered to speed data movement within those systems.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ding uploaded over 2,000 pages of confidential Google documents to a personal Google Cloud account between May 2022 and April 2023. Prosecutors added that in December 2023, just under two weeks before he quit, he transferred those files to his personal computer.
Prosecutors allege Ding covertly connected with two tech firms in China while working at Google. They claim he talked about taking on the CTO role at a startup in mid-2022, then launched his own AI and machine-learning company in China as CEO in early 2023.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that Ding told potential investors he could create an AI supercomputer by replicating and tweaking Google’s technology. They also highlighted his application for a Shanghai government-backed “talent plan,” where he stated his goal to help China develop computing infrastructure “on par with the international level.”
Prosecutors said some of the stolen chip designs were intended to help Google keep pace with cloud rivals Amazon and Microsoft, both of which develop their own processors. The goal was also to reduce Google’s dependence on Nvidia, whose chips currently dominate AI computing. 2
Ding was indicted in March 2024, with a superseding indictment in February 2025 broadening the charges to cover seven categories of alleged trade secrets, prosecutors stated. The trial was overseen by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. According to the Justice Department, Ding is scheduled to appear for a status conference on Feb. 3.
According to court documents cited by local media, Google flagged the uploads after noticing Ding had introduced himself as CEO of a China-based firm at an investor event in Beijing. The filings reveal Ding later booked a one-way ticket to Beijing. The FBI raided his home in early January 2024, with his arrest coming roughly two months afterward, the report stated. 3
“Silicon Valley leads the charge in artificial intelligence innovation,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in a statement. He added that the verdict sends a clear message: “the theft of this valuable technology will not go unpunished.” FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani warned that the theft “threatens our technological edge and economic competitiveness,” emphasizing the verdict as a signal that federal law will be rigorously applied to safeguard sensitive U.S. technology.
The biggest question now is what happens at sentencing. Prosecutors say each count of economic espionage can bring up to 15 years in prison, and each trade secret count carries a maximum of 10 years. The judge will consider federal sentencing guidelines before handing down any punishment. Ding’s lawyer didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment, Reuters reported. Google wasn’t charged and told Reuters it cooperated with law enforcement.
