Ex-Google engineer found guilty of massive trade secret theft for China

Linwei Ding (aka Leon Ding) faces decades in prison for stealing 2,000 confidential pages to launch Chinese AI startups

In a historic verdict delivered on January 29, 2026, a federal jury convicted former Google software engineer Linwei (Leon) Ding on 14 counts of economic espionage and trade secret theft. The case marks the first-ever conviction in the United States specifically involving the theft of artificial intelligence infrastructure and software designs for the benefit of a foreign power.

The 38-year-old Chinese national was found guilty of a multi-year scheme to exfiltrate Google’s "crown jewels", the blueprints for its AI supercomputing data centers, while secretly serving as CEO of his own AI startup in China.

The heist

Between May 2022 and April 2023, Ding utilized his position at Google to systematically bypass the company's internal security walls. His target was the hardware and software that allow Google to train and serve its most advanced Large Language Models (LLMs).

To bypass Google’s data-loss prevention (DLP) systems, Ding used a "cut-and-paste" technique, where he copied proprietary data into the Apple Notes app on his company MacBook, converted the notes into PDFs, and then uploaded those PDFs to his personal Google Cloud account.

With this approach, Ding took over 2,000 pages of highly sensitive data, including:

• Blueprints for Google’s custom Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) v4 and v6 chips.

• Designs for SmartNICs, the specialized networking cards used to connect thousands of AI chips into a single supercomputer.

• The Cluster Management System (CMS) software that orchestrates the massive power requirements of AI training.

The "mole" lifestyle

According to the evidence tabled, Ding was ctively building a competitor in China using Google’s stolen IP as the foundation while still on Google's payroll.

By early 2023, Ding had founded Shanghai Zhisuan Technologies, where he served as CEO. He told potential investors in China that he was one of the few people globally capable of replicating Google's AI infrastructure.

In one of the most brazen details of the trial, Ding reportedly asked a colleague to badge into a Google facility for him in California to make it appear he was working onsite while he was actually in China attending investor meetings.

Ding had also applied for a Chinese government-sponsored "talent plan," stating in his application that his goal was to "help China have computing power infrastructure on par with the international level."

Defense's unsuccessful argument

Ding's defense attorney, Grant Fondo, argued that Google "chose openness over security," claiming that because the documents were available to thousands of employees, they didn't meet the legal standard for "trade secrets." The jury, however, disagreed, siding with the DOJ’s argument that access within a company does not strip a technology of its proprietary value.

The verdict and sentencing

The 11-day trial concluded with the jury returning a guilty verdict on all counts. Ding is scheduled for a status conference on February 3, 2026, where a sentencing date will likely be set.

Ding faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the seven counts of economic espionage and up to 10 years for each of the seven counts of trade secret theft.

"This conviction exposes a calculated breach of trust involving some of the most advanced AI technology in the world," said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg. "The theft and misuse of advanced AI technology for the benefit of the PRC threatens our technological edge and economic competitiveness."