WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) – U.S. investors including the investment arms of Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) and Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) accounted for nearly a fifth of investments in Chinese artificial intelligence companies from 2015 to 2021, a report has revealed. on Wednesday.
The document, released by CSET, a technology policy group at Georgetown University, comes amid growing focus on US investments in AI, quantum and semiconductors, as it prepares The Biden administration will remove new restrictions on US funding of Chinese technology companies.
According to the report, 167 US investors participated in 401 transactions, or 17% of investments in Chinese AI companies during the period.
Those efforts represented $40.2 billion in investment, or 37% of the total raised by Chinese AI companies over the 6-year period. It is not clear in the report, which drew information from data provider Crunchbase, what percentage of the money came from US companies.
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Qualcomm Ventures and Intel Capital made 13 and 11 investments in Chinese AI companies, while GGV Capital led US companies with 43 percent of investments in the sector, the data showed.
The Biden administration is expected to unveil an executive order this year blocking some US investments in key Chinese technology companies, as hawks in Washington accuse American investors of diverting capital and with valuable information on Chinese technology companies that could help Beijing’s military advance.
According to the report, US investor GSR Ventures has also invested with China’s IFlytek Co Ltd (002230.SZ) in a Chinese AI company after the language company was added to a commercial blacklist. Silicon Valley Bank and Wanxiang American Healthcare made investments in Chinese AI companies including China’s Sensetime before the vision technology company was added to the same trading blacklist.
The two companies were added to the blacklist, which effectively prevents them from receiving US technology, in 2019 for alleged human rights violations related to punishing the Uighur Muslims.
Among the biggest investments are Goldman Sachs’ ( GS.N ) independent investment in 1KMXC, an AI-powered robotics company, and an investment by three US-based VC firms in Geek+, a company autonomous robot, the report said. .
There is only one Chinese AI company funded by US investors involved in developing AI applications for military or civilian use, according to CSET.
Illustrated by Alexandra Alper; Edited by Stephen Coates
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