US State Department Sanctions MiraclePlus and Zhisuan for Ties to Google AI Trade Secret Theft

The US State Department announced on October 20, 2026, that it has added Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co., MiraclePlus, and three affiliated companies to its sanctions list. According to Bloomberg, the action stems from allegations that these entities were linked to the case involving former Google software engineer Ding Linwei, who was convicted this year of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets and sentenced to one year in prison.

Zhisuan, founded by Ding, develops a software platform for training AI models. The State Department stated that Ding applied on behalf of Zhisuan to participate in MiraclePlus's startup incubation program, emphasizing his knowledge of Google's technologies. MiraclePlus is the successor to Y Combinator's China program, established by Lu Qi, a former Microsoft AI scientist. The sanctions specifically target MiraclePlus for providing seed financing to Zhisuan.

Under the restrictive measures, assets held by these entities in the United States may be frozen, and their access to banking services will be restricted. This move signals that US regulators are extending enforcement tools to venture capital firms involved in funding startups with questionable intellectual property origins, rather than targeting only the direct thieves or end-users.