The United States strikes a blow to China's AI ambitions

Washington this week targeted Chinese facial recognition startups SenseTime, Megvii and Yitu over national security concerns and foreign policy interests, aggravating the clash between the two economic superpowers over who will dominate the technologies of the future. SenseTime is the second-most valuable artificial intelligence startup in the world, with investments from tech giants SoftBank (SFTBF) and Alibaba (BABA) and a private market valuation of $7.5 billion, according to CB Insights. Megvii and Yitu are worth $4 billion and $2.4 billion respectively, according to CB Insights. The three tech startups, along with a handful of other Chinese firms like AI-driven surveillance camera maker Hikvision and voice recognition firm iFlyTek, are now banned from buying US products or importing American technology. The US Commerce Department added them to a trade blacklist this week, saying the companies had been implicated in human rights violations against Uyghurs and other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.