Landmark verdict tied to artificial intelligence trade secrets
A federal jury in San Francisco has convicted a former Google software engineer of stealing sensitive artificial intelligence trade secrets, marking the first U.S. conviction focused specifically on AI-related economic espionage.
Linwei Ding, 38, also known as Leon Ding, was found guilty on 14 felony counts, including economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Prosecutors said the stolen information was taken from Google and intended to benefit interests connected to China.
Theft of core AI infrastructure details
According to court documents, Ding removed more than 2,000 pages of confidential internal materials between 2022 and 2023 while employed at Google. Investigators said he uploaded the files to a personal cloud account while maintaining relationships with China-based technology companies and preparing to launch his own venture.
The stolen material included detailed information about Google’s AI infrastructure, such as the architecture of its custom Tensor Processing Unit chips, advanced graphics processing systems, and proprietary SmartNIC networking hardware used in AI supercomputers.
National security implications
U.S. authorities described the case as a major enforcement milestone amid intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence. Law enforcement officials said the verdict underscores that AI trade secrets are now treated as matters of national security.
Federal officials emphasized that protecting advanced technologies is critical as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly central to economic power and geopolitical influence.
Defense arguments rejected by jury
Ding’s defense argued that Google failed to adequately restrict internal access to the documents, claiming they were available to thousands of employees and therefore did not qualify as protected trade secrets. Prosecutors countered that the materials were highly sensitive and that Ding acted with clear intent to misuse them.
The jury rejected the defense position after an 11-day trial overseen by a federal judge in California’s Northern District.
Potential sentencing and broader impact
Ding faces a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison for each count of economic espionage and up to 10 years for each count of trade secret theft. Sentencing is expected to take place later this year.
Google welcomed the verdict, stating it sends a clear message that intellectual property theft in artificial intelligence carries severe consequences. Federal authorities indicated that similar prosecutions are likely as competition in AI intensifies.
