Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer is currently being charged in the United States. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled a revised indictment that consisted of seven counts of economic espionage and trade secrets theft.
Ding is a Chinese national who joined Google in 2019. He is accused of secretly handing out confidential information to benefit China's artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The DOJ claims he illegally accessed Google's proprietary chip technology used for training AI models like Gemini and graphical processing units.
Google released a statement clarifying that Ding acted independently. Moreover, the company immediately reported the case to law enforcement. "We have strong safeguards to prevent the theft of our confidential commercial information and trade secrets," said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda in an email to Bloomberg.
In 2023, the DOJ said that Ding founded a startup in China and applied to a Shanghai-based talent program. The program rewarded individuals who bring technical expertise back to China. His application reportedly outlined plans to develop technology to help China match global computing infrastructure capabilities.
If convicted, Ding could receive as much as 15 years behind bars on each count of economic espionage and 10 years for trade secret theft. In March, he had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The case highlights US efforts to counter intellectual property theft amid rising tensions between the United States and China in technological sectors.