From CNBC: A federal jury in San Francisco on Thursday convicted a former Google software engineer of stealing trade secrets related to the search company’s AI technology.
The jury found 38 year-old Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, guilty on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets related to stealing thousands of pages of confidential information from Google to benefit the People’s Republic of China, according to court documents.
The case marks the first conviction on AI-related economic espionage charges in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice.
“In today’s high-stakes race to dominate the field of artificial intelligence, Linwei Ding betrayed both the U.S. and his employer by stealing trade secrets about Google’s AI technology on behalf of China’s government,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, in a statement Friday. “Today’s verdict affirms that federal law will be enforced to protect our nation’s most valuable technologies and hold those who steal them accountable.”
CASE UPDATE from @FBISanFrancisco: Former Google Engineer Found Guilty of Economic Espionage and Theft of Confidential AI Technology
Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets for stealing thousands… pic.twitter.com/un0DhITrKE
— FBI (@FBI) February 2, 2026
Read more at CNBC
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