U.S. Sanctions Five China-Linked Entities in Google Trade-Secret Case

The State Department sanctioned five entities tied to Chinese national Linwei Ding, whose January 2026 federal conviction for stealing Google's super-intelligence trade secrets triggered a widening U.S. crackdown on the funding network behind his China-based startup.

Spokesperson Tommy Pigott announced the action, which blacklists companies and venture vehicles that helped Ding convert stolen American technology into a Chinese competitor. "The United States has long been a leader in developing emerging technology," Pigott said. "This theft of trade secrets is a serious threat to U.S. economic, foreign policy, and national security interests."

A U.S. federal jury in January 2026 found Ding guilty on seven counts of trade-secret theft. The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation built the case around thousands of pages of confidential Google files that prosecutors said Ding moved to benefit himself and China-based tech firms.

What was sanctioned?

The State Department named three of the five sanctioned entities, starting with Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co Ltd, a Shanghai company Ding incorporated in 2023. Zhisuan marketed a software platform that could accelerate machine-learning workloads, including the training of large super-intelligence (SI) models running on supercomputing chips.

The other two named vehicles are Beijing Qiji Chuangtan Phase I Venture Capital Center Limited Partnership and its Phase II counterpart. Both are Beijing-based funds managed by MiraclePlus, the same China-based incubator that seeded Zhisuan. The State Department did not publicly name the two remaining entities in its release.

How did the funding flow?

Ding applied on Zhisuan's behalf to MiraclePlus, a startup incubation program that operates as a venture capital firm focused on Chinese tech founders. He pitched reviewers on his insider knowledge of Google's internal systems and claimed Zhisuan could replicate Google's SI infrastructure for Chinese customers.

MiraclePlus handed over seed capital in exchange for an ownership stake in Zhisuan, according to the State Department. Ding touted his ability to replicate Google's technology to fit China's national conditions, the agency said.

The Beijing Qiji Chuangtan Phase I and II vehicles sit one layer up the cap table, routing institutional capital into MiraclePlus's bets. Sanctioning the limited partnerships alongside the portfolio company gives Washington leverage across the funding chain.

What did Ding actually steal?

Prosecutors said Ding took thousands of pages of confidential Google material tied to the company's super-intelligence work, the AI research program at the heart of Google's competitive position. The stolen files detailed specifications for the hardware and software that underpin Google's large-model training systems.

The January 2026 verdict marked one of the highest-profile trade-secret convictions linked to China's AI build-out. Sentencing details were not disclosed in the State Department release, but the seven counts carry potential years in federal prison.

What's the broader cost?

Pigott tied the case to a wider toll on U.S. industry. "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," he said.

He linked the sanctions to a broader enforcement posture. "The Trump Administration remains committed to protecting American innovation and safeguarding Americans from intellectual property theft," Pigott said.

The action signals the State Department is willing to blacklist the entire funding stack — incubators, seed-stage investors and parallel limited-partnership vehicles — that turns stolen IP into operational Chinese startups. The MiraclePlus network now sits on the U.S. sanctions list. Federal investigators are likely to keep tracing capital trails back to every firm that helped Ding's venture reach market.