China tech: 5 US venture capital firms invested over US$3 billion in mainland AI, semiconductors

A US congressional panel monitoring China has concluded that five American venture capital firms invested a combined US$3 billion or more in the mainland’s artificial intelligence and semiconductor industries, and used its findings to call for more restrictions on the US financial industry’s ties to the country.

The five were GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Walden International, according to a report released by the US House select committee on the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday after a seven-month investigation.

Together the companies have invested more than US$1.9 billion in Chinese AI companies, which includes over US$1 billion in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, according to the investigation led by Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher, the panel’s chairman, and its ranking member, Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

In addition, more than US$1 billion has flowed to more than 150 semiconductor companies in China, including over US$50 million to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the report stated.