Linwei Ding, a former software engineer at Google, became the centre of a major US national security case after a federal jury convicted him of stealing highly sensitive artificial intelligence trade secrets. Prosecutors said Ding took confidential information about Google’s AI infrastructure while still employed at the company and sought to benefit China-linked firms. US officials described the case as a clear example of economic espionage at a time when artificial intelligence is viewed as strategically critical to American technological leadership.Public information about Ding’s personal life is sparse. Court records identify him as a 38-year-old Chinese national who lived in Newark, California, while working at Google. He joined the company in 2019 as a software engineer. No verified details have been made public about his place of birth, education, family background, or when he first arrived in the United States.At Google, Ding worked on systems supporting large-scale AI development. According to court filings, his position gave him access to internal tools and documentation describing how Google designs and operates the advanced computing infrastructure used to train and deploy its AI models.Prosecutors said this included proprietary methods for managing data centres, optimising AI workloads, and coordinating specialised hardware, information they argued formed a core part of Google’s competitive advantage in the global AI race.

How US AI trade secrets were taken and linked to China-based companies

Between May 2022 and April 2023, Ding downloaded and transferred thousands of confidential files from Google’s internal networks to his personal cloud accounts, according to prosecutors. The materials included detailed information about AI supercomputing systems, such as configurations for custom Tensor Processing Units, GPU clusters, networking technologies, and internal deployment tools.At trial, the government argued these files were not general research materials but closely guarded internal documents. Evidence also showed that during this period Ding was secretly working with two China-based technology companies, including an artificial intelligence startup he helped establish. Prosecutors said he also applied to a Shanghai-based talent recruitment programme aimed at attracting overseas experts to contribute to China’s technology sector.US authorities said these actions demonstrated intent to benefit foreign entities using stolen US trade secrets, a key requirement for economic espionage charges.

The trial and verdict

After an 11-day trial in federal court in San Francisco, a jury found Ding guilty on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets. The defence argued that the files did not qualify as trade secrets and that there was no evidence they were shared or used commercially. The jury rejected those claims.The case was prosecuted by the US Department of Justice, which called the verdict a significant step in protecting American innovation.

Potential sentence and next steps

Each economic espionage conviction carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years in prison, while each trade secret theft count carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years. Sentencing will be determined by a federal judge at a later date.Ding remains free pending sentencing after the court found he was not a flight risk. His legal team is expected to file post-trial motions and may appeal the verdict.US officials have pointed to the case as part of broader efforts to prevent the misuse of insider access to obtain sensitive American technology. For the tech industry, the conviction underscores the growing tension between open research environments and the need to safeguard critical intellectual property amid rising geopolitical competition.