Chinese citizen faces 175 years in prison for stealing Google AI trade secrets

A Chinese citizen faces up to 175 years in prison for allegedly stealing Google's artificial intelligence (AI) trade secrets and leaking them to China-based technology companies.

A total of 14 charges

The case, filed on February 4, 2024 in the Northern District Court of California (USA), alleges that Linwei (Leon) Ding, a former Google engineer, uploaded more than 1,000 confidential company files to his personal Google Cloud account between May 2022 and May 2023.

According to the US Department of Justice, L. Ding faces 14 counts of economic espionage and trade secret theft.

He is accused of stealing sensitive information about the company’s hardware infrastructure and AI software platforms that support its AI supercomputer systems.

How Ding Committed Crime

Ding’s stolen data included proprietary designs for Google’s own chips, including the search engine’s SmartNIC, Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) chips. The data also included information about the software necessary for the chips to communicate.

The case file shows that Ding leaked these technologies to two Chinese companies, one of which he founded as an AI and machine learning startup in China.

The case also alleges that Ding shared trade secrets with the chief technology officer of a Chinese technology company and established secret relationships to serve the interests of the People’s Republic of China.

Ding also distributed presentations to his startup’s employees that relied on China’s national policies to strengthen the country’s AI capabilities.

Prison and fines in the tens of billions

This case is not isolated, as it is part of a larger US initiative, the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, launched in 2023 by the Biden administration.

The initiative is designed to combat the theft of advanced technology from countries such as China and Russia.

If convicted on all charges, Ding faces up to 175 years in prison and a fine of up to $36.75 million.

Google has not been charged and has fully cooperated with authorities. The case will go to trial after possible settlement negotiations.