The U.S. State Department sanctioned MiraclePlus, a prominent Chinese venture capital firm, over its connection to a startup accused of stealing Google’s artificial intelligence trade secrets. The sanctions also cover three affiliates and could lead to U.S. asset freezes and banking restrictions.
MiraclePlus, the successor to Y Combinator’s former China arm, is led by former Microsoft executive Lu Qi. The firm allegedly provided seed funding to Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co., founded by former Google engineer Linwei Ding. Ding was convicted earlier this year of stealing confidential AI technology from Google.
U.S. authorities say Ding drew on his knowledge of Google’s advanced AI infrastructure when applying to MiraclePlus’s incubation program and explicitly stated that he could replicate the technology. The sanctions highlight escalating U.S.-China tensions over protecting critical technology.