Update: State Department Sanctions Five Entities Tied to Linwei Ding over Theft of Google AI Trade Secrets
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of State announced on October 19 that it is sanctioning five entities connected to Chinese national Linwei Ding under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act (PAIPA), in connection with the theft of trade secrets from U.S. persons. The move follows Ding's conviction by a federal jury in January and marks a further step against parties linked to the case.
The five designated entities are Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co Ltd; Qiji Chuangtan Beijing Investment Management Co Ltd; Beijing Qiji Chuangtan Phase I Venture Capital Center Limited Partnership; Beijing Qiji Chuangtan Phase II Venture Capital Center Limited Partnership; and Beijing Qiji Chuangtan Zhiyuan Enterprise Management Center Limited Partnership. According to the State Department's fact sheet, Zhisuan Technology knowingly engaged in, or benefited from, significant theft of trade secrets; MiraclePlus (Qiji Chuangtan) provided financial or other support connected to the theft; and the remaining three entities were designated because of their ownership or control relationships with MiraclePlus.
The State Department said the designations follow an investigation of Ding by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On January 29, 2026, a U.S. federal jury convicted Ding of seven counts of theft of trade secrets. He was convicted of stealing thousands of pages of confidential information containing Google's trade secrets related to super intelligence (SI) technology, to benefit himself and China-based tech companies. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in the statement: 'Theft of trade secrets is a serious threat to U.S. economic, foreign policy, and national security interests.'
Ding, a former Google engineer, was arrested in California in 2024 and indicted. He founded Shanghai Zhisuan Technology in 2023, promoting its ability to develop software capable of accelerating machine-learning workloads, and later applied to the Beijing-based startup accelerator MiraclePlus, which provided seed funding to Zhisuan. The State Department said theft of trade secrets related to sensitive and emerging technologies harms U.S. jobs, companies, and investments, and costs U.S. industry billions of dollars each year, adding that the Trump Administration remains committed to protecting American innovation and safeguarding Americans from intellectual property theft.
PAIPA, codified at 50 U.S.C. 1709, authorizes a menu of sanctions — including blocking of U.S.-based assets and prohibitions on transactions by U.S. persons — against foreign individuals and entities found to have engaged in significant trade secret theft. The department said additional details are available in its accompanying fact sheet.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国国务院总部哈里·S·杜鲁门大楼外景。美国国务院摄，公共领域图片，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。
- 2026-01-29Former Google Engineer Linwei Ding Convicted on All 14 Counts in SI Trade Secrets Case
- 2026-10-19Update: State Department Sanctions Five Entities Tied to Linwei Ding over Theft of Google AI Trade SecretsThis story
- 2026-10-21Follow-Up: China's Commerce Ministry Protests U.S. Sanctions on Five Ding-Linked Entities, Vows Necessary Measures
