US Blacklists Tencent-Backed AI Startup as Tech Curbs Deepen
- Zhipu and its subsidiaries have been added to US entity list
- Company says the decision won’t have a substantial impact
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Washington has added Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed startup Zhipu to a trade-restrictions blacklist, taking aim at one of a handful of fledgling firms considered frontrunners in the race to develop an answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The US Department of Commerce on Wednesday named the startup to its entity list, which precludes US suppliers from selling to the company without a license, in another last-minute measure from the outgoing Biden administration. The move coincided with a fresh round of regulations aimed at keeping advanced chips such as AI accelerators from making their way to China.