Ex-Google Engineer Charged with AI Espionage

A Chinese national and former Google software engineer is facing economic espionage charges in the United States for allegedly stealing proprietary AI-related trade secrets to benefit China.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on February 5 that Linwei (Leon) Ding has been indicted on 14 counts, including economic espionage and trade secret theft. According to prosecutors, Ding uploaded more than 1,000 confidential Google files to his personal cloud storage between May 2022 and May 2023, containing details on Google’s AI supercomputing technology.

Secret Affiliations and Espionage Allegations

Ding, who had been working at Google since 2019, allegedly developed undisclosed connections with two Chinese tech companies while still employed by Google.

Court documents reveal that in June 2022, he began talks with a chief technology officer from a Chinese firm. By May 2023, Ding had secretly founded his own AI startup in China, where he served as CEO.

According to the DOJ, the stolen information included:

• Google’s custom-designed AI chips, including SmartNIC, TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), and GPU systems
• Confidential software developed for chip communication and next-gen AI innovations

Authorities allege that this data was leaked with the intent to benefit China’s government, potentially advancing its AI infrastructure to rival U.S. capabilities.

FBI Investigation and Espionage Charges

The FBI is actively investigating the case, with Ding initially being indicted in March 2024 on four counts of trade secret theft.

In a startling revelation, prosecutors claim Ding circulated internal presentations within his Chinese company, citing China’s national tech policies and stating that his work would help the country “achieve computing power infrastructure on par with international levels.”

If convicted on all counts, Ding faces:

• 175 years in prison
• Up to $36.75 million in fines

The final sentencing will be determined based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.

U.S.-China Tech War Intensifies

The case is unfolding against the backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and China over AI and semiconductor technology. The DOJ has been aggressively targeting cases of intellectual property theft, particularly those tied to China’s efforts to gain an edge in AI and computing power.

As the FBI continues its probe, the tech world is watching closely, with implications for both Google’s security practices and the broader AI arms race between the U.S. and China.