American AI Startups Quietly Raise Money From Top Chinese VC Firms, Including Sequoia Capital China

Major Chinese venture capital firms are quietly investing in American artificial intelligence startups, undeterred by growing concerns from U.S. officials about Chinese involvement in local technology firms.

For example, Sequoia Capital China, the biggest VC firm by assets in mainland China, recently invested in UTA, or Universal Travel Assistant, a California-based stealth startup that’s developing an AI chatbot to help people plan and book trips, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Sequoia China also has invested in Opus Clip, a California-based startup founded last year whose AI video tool helps podcast creators such as Scott Galloway generate short video clips from long episodes, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Sequoia China is not alone. Prominent Chinese VC firms including ZhenFund, Source Code Capital, Capital Today and MiraclePlus, formerly a Chinese affiliate of Y Combinator, have also invested in AI startups in the U.S. over the last year or so, said people with knowledge of the deals. Neither the firms nor the startups have announced the deals.