A former Google software engineer, Linwei Ding, has been charged with stealing trade secrets worth millions from his former employer. Ding, 38, is accused of copying and transmitting more than 1,000 files related to Google’s proprietary AI work between 2022 and 2023. He allegedly shared these files with Chinese companies, including Beijing Rongshu Lianzhi Technology, where he later became the chief technology officer.
According to the indictment, Ding worked on software that enabled graphics processing units (GPUs) to run more efficiently for machine learning and AI applications. Despite Google’s data loss prevention mechanisms, Ding allegedly found a way to circumvent them by copying files directly into an Apple Notes document and transferring them to his personal account.
Ding was granted special access to Google’s confidential data due to his work on the software platform deployed in the company’s supercomputing datacenters. However, he allegedly used this access to steal trade secrets related to Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips, GPU machines, and systems.
The indictment alleges that Ding received a job offer from Rongshu in October 2022 and traveled to China to meet with the company’s leadership. He later founded his own startup in China called Shanghai Zhisuan Technology, which claimed to develop a cluster management system for accelerating machine learning workloads.
Google alleges that Ding attempted to escape the country by booking a one-way flight to Beijing on January 7, 2024. However, due to passport restrictions imposed by the FBI, he was likely never able to board the flight.
If found guilty, Ding faces a maximum ten-year prison stint and a $5 million fine for each of the seven economic espionage counts. The charges are part of a broader effort by the FBI to combat the theft of American innovation and intellectual property by companies based in China.
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/google_espionage_charges