Chinese subsidiaries of American Venture capital firms are pouring money from US funds into Chinese space startups even as the Pentagon warns of Beijing’s increasing activity in the space field, according to data reviewed by TechCrunch.
The data, compiled by PitchBook, includes information on previous limited partners and investments from the Chinese units of Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Investments in the space industry represent a very small but notable portion of these companies’ portfolios, with Sequoia Capital China and Lightspeed China each investing in two companies and Matrix China investing in eight. Startups that have secured funding include companies working on launching, satellite manufacturing and Earth observation.
According to recent reports from The Wall Street Journal and political, the White House is considering new screening requirements for US investments flowing into foreign technologies that could be sensitive to national security, such as semiconductors, though it’s unclear whether space technologies will be considered as part of a future order. But one investor, who requested anonymity, citing joint investments with Sequoia Capital, told TechCrunch the stakes are high.