Ding also founded a separate China-based startup company and did not disclose either affiliation to Google. He resigned from Google on December 26 of last year. The FBI served a search warrant at Ding's home in January, seizing his electronic devices and later executing an additional warrant for the contents of his personal accounts. Authorities found more than 500 unique files of confidential information that Ding allegedly stole from Google. Ding faces four counts of federal trade secret theft, each carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Key takeaways:
- Former Google software engineer Linwei Ding was arrested on charges of stealing AI trade secrets from Google while secretly working with two China-based companies.
- Ding allegedly copied detailed information about the architecture and functionality of GPU and TPU chips and systems, and the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks.
- Ding was offered the position of chief technology officer at a technology company in China and also founded a separate China-based startup company, neither of which he disclosed to Google.
- Ding faces four counts of federal trade secret theft, each carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.