The U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has expressed "serious concern" about investments made by U.S. venture capital firms in Chinese AI and tech startups. The letters, written by committee members Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), were sent to GGV Capital, GST Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, and Walden International. The lawmakers are specifically concerned about the VC firms' investments in AI, quantum, and semiconductor companies in China. - Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi identified numerous investments that are connected to human rights violations and the strengthening of China's military.
- Some of the funded companies are linked to the profiling and internment of the Uyghur minority group in China, they wrote.
- For instance, Qualcomm Ventures made over a dozen investments in Chinese AI companies between 2015 and 2021, including SenseTime, which was publicly linked to the tracking and profiling of the Uyghur population.
- Tiger Global Management and Silver Lake, although not mentioned in the letter, also invested in SenseTime before its 2021 initial public offering, according to PitchBook data.
|
