U.S. companies were involved in at least 37 percent of the total investment transactions in China’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector between 2015 and 2021, according to a new report.
The report (pdf), published by the Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technology, found that $40.2 billion in investment transactions into Chinese AI companies had U.S. backing, though it was unclear what percentage of that amount was made by U.S. investors or their overseas counterparts.
The venture capital (VC) was given to 251 Chinese AI companies, primarily at angel, seed, and pre-seed stages of investment.
There are risks with such investments, the report noted, as they’re generally accompanied by other intangible benefits whereby U.S. expertise is delivered to China-based companies….