wire / 2026-10-19-35a1
US Sanctions Chinese Firms Over Theft of Google AI Trade Secrets
Zhisuan was founded on Google's trade secrets, per the US. Founding documents rarely list that as a source.
The facts
The US sanctioned five Chinese entities, including AI startup Zhisuan and venture firm MiraclePlus, after ex-Google engineer Linwei Ding was convicted of stealing confidential AI trade secrets. The stolen technology was used to found Zhisuan, prompting US action and diplomatic tensions with China, which denies wrongdoing.