A federal judge in San Francisco partially overturned the conviction of former Google software engineer Linwei Ding on Thursday, vacating seven counts of economic espionage while upholding his conviction for theft of trade secrets.
Judge Vince Chhabria ruled there was insufficient evidence to support the economic espionage charges, which required proof that Ding intended or knew his actions would benefit the Chinese government. The trade secrets conviction, however, was sustained after an 11-day trial last January. Ding, a Chinese national also known as Leon Ding, was found guilty of stealing confidential information related to Google’s AI infrastructure, including hardware blueprints for data centers used to train large language models.
Prosecutors alleged Ding began transferring proprietary data in mid-2022 while being recruited by an early-stage Chinese technology company. The stolen materials included designs intended to help Google reduce reliance on Nvidia chips and gain an edge over cloud rivals Amazon.com and Microsoft, which develop their own semiconductor architectures. Google, which was not charged, stated it fully cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation.
Ding originally faced seven counts of economic espionage, each carrying a maximum 15-year prison sentence and a $5 million fine, alongside seven counts of trade secrets theft, each punishable by up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The economic espionage counts were dismissed, while the trade secrets convictions remain in place. His legal team filed for acquittal shortly after the guilty verdict but prosecutors expanded the charges in a superseding indictment in February 2025.
The ruling was issued in Wilmington, Delaware, and San Francisco on August 20, 2026. Ding is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1, according to court records. His attorney described the decision as a positive development, stating Ding was 'gratified with the ruling.'
