Linwei “Leon” Ding, a Chinese national and Google software engineer, has been arrested and indicted on four counts of trade secret theft. Prosecutors allege he aimed to benefit Chinese companies and potentially start his own AI company in China.
Ding worked at Google since 2019 and had access to confidential information about the company’s AI supercomputing centers. Starting in May 2022, he allegedly spent a year uploading over 500 files related to these centers to his personal Google Cloud account.
Investigations revealed Ding had been secretly working with two Chinese companies. One, Beijing Rongshu Lianzhi Technology Co., offered him a CTO position. Ding participated in the company’s investor meetings while still employed by Google.
In May 2023, Ding founded his own AI-focused company, Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co. He presented his company at an investor conference in China, explicitly mentioning leveraging his experience with Google’s technology as a selling point.
The US Attorney General emphasized the severity of the case, stating Ding’s actions represented the theft of cutting-edge artificial intelligence trade secrets from Google. If convicted, Ding faces substantial prison time and fines.
