Ex-Google Software Engineer Sentenced For ‘Economic Espionage’ On Sharing AI Trade Secrets With China

38-year-old Linwei Ding has been convicted on 7 counts of economic espionage and 7 counts of theft of trade secrets for stealing more than 2,000 pages of confidential information.

• The information stolen was largely relating to hardware and software details about AI supercomputing infrastructure, including custom chips, networking systems, and software platforms.
• The charges stated that Ding was also affiliated with two Chinese technology companies as well as the country’s government-backed talent programs and entities. 
• The case marks the first-ever conviction on AI-related economic espionage charges, as per the U.S. Department of Justice.

Former Alphabet Inc. and Google’s (GOOGL) software engineer Linwei Ding has been found guilty by a federal jury in San Francisco of stealing confidential AI trade secrets from the company to benefit China, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

38-year-old Ding has been convicted on 7 counts of economic espionage and 7 counts of theft of trade secrets for stealing thousands of pages of confidential information after an 11-day trial.

“This conviction exposes a calculated breach of trust involving some of the most advanced AI technology in the world at a critical moment in AI development,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg in a statement.

“Ding abused his privileged access to steal AI trade secrets while pursuing PRC government-aligned ventures. His duplicity put U.S. technological leadership and competitiveness at risk. I commend the trial team and investigators whose exceptional work resulted in this conviction.”

Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division also noted that this is the first-ever conviction on AI-related economic espionage charges.

“We remain committed to working closely with our partners across the private sector to protect our nation’s innovation, safeguard our trade secrets, and hold our foreign adversaries accountable,” Rozhavsky said.

Charge Details

As per evidence presented between May 2022 and April 2023, Ding stole over 2,000 pages of Google’s information while an employee at the firm, largely relating to hardware and software details about AI supercomputing infrastructure, including custom chips, networking systems, and software platforms.

The charges stated that Ding was also affiliated with two Chinese technology companies — one early-stage startup where he was in discussions to be the Chief Technology Officer, and another technology company that he was in the process of founding himself.

In multiple statements to potential investors, Ding claimed that he could build an AI supercomputer by copying and modifying Google’s technology, as per the release. In December 2023, less than two weeks before he resigned from Google, Ding downloaded the stolen Google trade secrets to his own personal computer. Evidence also linked Ding to China’s government-backed talent programs and entities.

Ding faces up to 15 years per espionage count and 10 years per trade secret theft count, with sentencing pending.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GOOGL shares was in the ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours amid ‘normal’ message volumes.

Shares of GOOGLhave risen more than 68% in the past year.

The tech giant is slated to report its fourth-quarter (Q4) 2025 results next week, on Feb. 4.

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