Superseding Indictment Charges Chinese National In Relation To Alleged Plan To Steal Proprietary AI Technology

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Ding was originally indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets.  The superseding indictment returned today describes seven categories of trade secrets stolen by Ding and charges Ding with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets.

According to the superseding indictment, Google hired Ding as a software engineer in 2019.  Between approximately May 2022 and May 2023, Ding uploaded more than 1,000 unique files containing Google confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Google Cloud account, including the trade secrets alleged in the superseding indictment.

While Ding was employed by Google, he secretly affiliated himself with two People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based technology companies.  Around June 2022, Ding was in discussions to be the Chief Technology Officer for an early-stage technology company based in the PRC.  By May 2023, Ding had founded his own technology company focused on AI and machine learning in the PRC and was acting as the company’s CEO.

The superseding indictment alleges that Ding intended to benefit the PRC government by stealing trade secrets from Google.  Ding allegedly stole technology relating to the hardware infrastructure and software platform that allows Google’s supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models.  The trade secrets contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and systems and Google’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems, the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrates thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads.  The trade secrets also pertain to Google’s custom-designed SmartNIC, a type of network interface card used to enhance Google’s GPU, high performance, and cloud networking products.

As alleged, Ding circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of his technology company citing PRC national policies encouraging the development of the domestic AI industry.  He also created a PowerPoint presentation containing an application to a PRC talent program based in Shanghai.  The superseding indictment describes how PRC-sponsored talent programs incentivize individuals engaged in research and development outside the PRC to transmit that knowledge and research to the PRC in exchange for salaries, research funds, lab space, or other incentives.  Ding’s application for the talent program stated that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”

United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Dan Costin made the announcement.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count under 18 U.S.C. § 1832 and a maximum of 15 years in prison for each count under 18 U.S.C § 1831.  Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Boome and Molly K. Priedeman and Trial Attorneys Stephen Marzen and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Today’s action was coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states.

Ding Superseding Indictment