US House panel scrutinises four venture capital firms investing in Chinese AI and semiconductors
- GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Walden International and Qualcomm Ventures are being probed by the House select committee on China
- GGV and Qualcomm invested in AI developers Megvii and SenseTime, respectively, while Walden invested in Chinese chip champion SMIC
A US congressional committee is investigating four venture capital firms for their investment in Chinese technology companies, the latest sign of Washington’s increasing scrutiny of American funds suspected of helping develop sensitive industries in China.
GGV declined to comment on Wednesday night. The other firms didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The investigation, reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal, comes as Washington seeks to block China’s development of next-generation technology that officials worry will dominate the security and economic landscape – specifically semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Both the White House and members of Congress are crafting policies to track and potentially block US investments in those fields in China, which they say are being used for human-rights abuses and advancing military capabilities.
Gallagher referred to the four firms on Wednesday as the committee’s “initial targets”, and said the investigation will inform the committee’s policy recommendations, including any requirements mandated by Congress to review outbound investment.
Gallagher said his two main concerns are that the Chinese companies receiving US investment could be contributing to human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region and helping the Chinese military develop sophisticated technology.
