Expanded Indictment for Former Google Engineer Accused of AI Espionage

In a recent legal development, U.S. prosecutors have intensified their case against Linwei Ding, a former software engineer at Google. On Tuesday, an expanded 14-count indictment was announced, accusing Ding of misappropriating artificial intelligence trade secrets to benefit two Chinese enterprises he was covertly affiliated with.

Charges and Legal Risks

Ding, a 38-year-old Chinese national, faces a serious legal battle with a federal grand jury in San Francisco charging him with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of trade secret theft. Each charge of economic espionage carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine, while each count of trade secret theft could result in a 10-year sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Initially indicted in March of last year on four counts of trade secret theft, Ding remains out on bond. His legal representatives have not yet issued a response to recent requests for comment.

National Security Concerns

This case is part of a larger initiative coordinated by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, which was established in 2023 by the Biden administration. The initiative seeks to mitigate risks to national security by preventing advanced technology from falling into the hands of nations like China and Russia.

Allegations of Technology Theft

The allegations center around Ding's purported theft of valuable information related to Google's hardware infrastructure and software platform, both crucial to training large AI models. Prosecutors assert that some stolen chip designs were intended to give Google a competitive edge over other cloud computing giants like Amazon and Microsoft, while also lessening dependency on Nvidia chips.

According to the indictment, Ding joined Google in May 2019, only to begin his unauthorized activities three years later when he was allegedly being recruited by an emerging Chinese tech firm. It's alleged that by May 2023, Ding had uploaded more than 1,000 confidential documents and subsequently shared a PowerPoint presentation with employees of a Chinese startup he founded, advocating for the development of a local AI sector.

Google's Cooperation and Legal Proceedings

Google itself is not implicated in the wrongdoing and has stated its cooperation with law enforcement throughout the investigation. Court records from a December 18 hearing disclosed discussions between prosecutors and defense attorneys regarding a "potential resolution" to the case, though it appears likely to proceed to trial.

This significant legal proceeding is identified as U.S. v. Ding, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-cr-00141.