Of all the people who could end up on a US sanctions list for bankrolling stolen Google AI technology, a former Microsoft executive hand-picked by Sam Altman to run Y Combinator's China arm was probably not on many bingo cards. And yet here we are.
On Monday, the State Department blacklisted Shanghai Zhisuan Technology, the AI startup founded by convicted ex-Google engineer Linwei Ding, along with MiraclePlus, the Chinese venture firm founded by ex-Microsoft AI scientist Lu Qi, and three MiraclePlus-managed funds, for providing seed financing to Zhisuan. According to Bloomberg, the measures may include freezing US assets and banking restrictions.
Lu QiThe best part of the story is Lu's resume, which reads like a tour of every major tech power center of the past 20 years: the stuff corporate espionage movie scripts are made of. Per Bloomberg:
Lu, a former Microsoft executive, was recruited in 2017 by Baidu Inc. to oversee the Chinese search leader's AI efforts, only to quit a year later citing personal reasons. In 2018, Lu – recruited by then-Y Combinator President Sam Altman – joined the US firm to help create YC China.
When Y Combinator abandoned the expansion a year later, Lu and his team simply kept going under the MiraclePlus brand. That's the same MiraclePlus that, according to the State Department, gave a Chinese startup seed money in exchange for equity after its founder showed up touting his inside knowledge of Google's AI
