The engineer, identified as Linwei Ding (also known as Leon Ding), has been arrested an indicted.

He is accused of stealing more than 500 files which could land him in prison for 10 years and impose fines of upto $250,000.

Ding, was hired by Google in 2019 and worked actively on Google’s AI software.

However, he started uploading company files to his private Google account in 2022 and kept doing so regularly for the next year.

Meanwhile, he secretly began working for a Chinese startup named Beijing Rongshu Lianzhi Technology as its Chief Technology Officer.

He also founded his own company, named Shanghai Zhisuan Technology, where he served as CEO.

Ding kept his work for the two companies hidden from Google and even presented his ideas at an investor conference in China last November.

He later flew to the US, resigned from his job at Google and booked a ticket to China. The ticket was one-way.

At this point, Google found out about his activites and suspended his access to the company. He was later reported and arrested.

The US attorney general has said that Ding’s actions amount to theft of technology that could put US national security at risk.

He added that Ding was trying to hand over the technology to companies looking to get an edge in the AI race.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has accused the engineer of trying to steal American innovation for China.