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Former Google Engineer Convicted of AI Espionage for China

2/1/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer, was convicted in San Francisco of stealing over 2,000 pages of AI trade secrets to aid China.
This marks the first U.S. conviction for AI-related economic espionage.
Ding worked at Google from 2019 until January 2024.
He faces up to 15 years per espionage count and 10 years per theft count.

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Story summary

Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer, was convicted in San Francisco of stealing over 2,000 pages of AI trade secrets to aid China.
This marks the first U.S. conviction for AI-related economic espionage.
Ding worked at Google from 2019 until January 2024.
He faces up to 15 years per espionage count and 10 years per theft count.