The Strategist

FBI probes investment fund for collecting IT startup secrets for China



09/27/2024 - 03:01



The Financial Times reports that the US FBI is investigating Hone Capital, a California-based venture capital fund financed by Chinese money, to determine if it has obtained trade secrets from US technology startups.



Tomas Roggero
Tomas Roggero
Hone Capital was founded in 2015 with an initial investment of $115 million from a Chinese private equity firm. The venture fund invested in many IT startups, such as self-driving car developer Cruise, payment service Stripe, and aerospace company Boom.

Sources informed the Financial Times that the FBI is investigating if Hone Capital obtained data on the startups' technology, finances, or customers for the advantage of a Chinese investor or the PRC authorities.

Intelligence agencies are worried because some of Hone Capital's portfolio companies have agreements to offer services to the US government, officials stated. Furthermore, the FBI is worried that Hone Capital may have received funds from PRC state sources.

For years, Silicon Valley has embraced investments from China, but in July intelligence agencies cautioned IT startups that foreign adversaries, such as China, were utilizing these investments to acquire sensitive data, putting national security at risk.

source: ft.com