In a move that escalates the technological confrontation between Washington and Beijing, the US State Department has announced sanctions against five Chinese entities. At the center of the measures are MiraclePlus, a prominent venture capital and accelerator firm, and the startup Shanghai Zhisuan Technology, both linked to a high-profile case of trade secret theft from Google.

The Timeline of the Theft

The case revolves around the activities of Linwei Ding, a former software engineer at Google. According to US authorities, Ding transferred over 2,000 pages of confidential information to a personal cloud account between May 2022 and April 2023. The data concerned critical AI infrastructure used for training large-scale models in data centers.

While still employed by Google, Ding founded Zhisuan in 2023 and sought funding from MiraclePlus. During the investor pitch process, he allegedly presented Google's proprietary technology as his own foundation for developing similar systems in China.

The Role of MiraclePlus and Lu Qi

MiraclePlus was founded by Lu Qi, a former high-ranking executive at Microsoft and Baidu, who previously headed Y Combinator China before the latter withdrew from the Chinese market in 2019. The firm provided seed funding to Zhisuan, a connection that has now triggered US restrictive measures.

The sanctions include:

  • Freezing of assets under US jurisdiction.
  • Ban on transactions with US persons and businesses.
  • Restricted access to international financial services.

Legal Outcome and Geopolitical Implications

In September 2026, Ding was sentenced to 12 months minus one day in prison. Notably, while he was convicted of trade secret theft, the economic espionage charges were dismissed by a federal judge in August 2026, citing insufficient evidence of intent to benefit the Chinese government.

Washington's decision highlights that protecting AI intellectual property has become a matter of national security, affecting not only the individuals involved but also the broader investment ecosystem supporting them.