Former Google engineer Linwei Ding convicted on 14 counts of stealing AI trade secrets for China

A federal jury convicts Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer, on 14 counts — seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of trade secret theft — for stealing over 1,000 confidential files containing Google's AI chip design and training infrastructure code. Ding, who had secretly affiliated with two Chinese AI companies while working at Google, faces up to 10 years per espionage count. The case reveals that Chinese companies sought specific details about Google's custom TPU chips and AI training clusters. FBI Director Kash Patel calls the case a major counterintelligence victory. The conviction follows years of DOJ prosecution of technology sector intellectual property theft linked to China.