A central processing unit (CPU) semiconductor chip is displayed among flags of China and U.S., in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) – A Chinese chip designer, part-owned by the country’s top sanctioned chipmaker, is purchasing U.S. software and has American financial backing, relationships that underscore the difficulty Washington faces applying new rules meant to block American support for Beijing’s semiconductor industry. The company, Brite Semiconductor, offers chip design services to at least six Chinese military suppliers, a Reuters examination of company statements, regulatory filings, tenders and academic articles by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researchers and institutions found. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Its second largest shareholder and top supplier, chipmaker SMIC, was placed on the so-called U.S. entity list over alleged ties to Beijing’s military, effectively barring it from receiving some goods from U.S. suppliers. Despite those relationships, Brite boasts funding from a U.S. venture capital firm backed by Wells Fargo and a Christian university, and has continued access to sensitive U.S. technology from two California-based software companies, Synopsys and Cadence Design, documents showed. Reuters has found no evidence that Brite’s relationships with U.S. firms violate any regulations. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The Biden administration, with bipartisan support, has taken pains to stop the flow of technology and investment to Bejing’s chip sector, unveiling rules last October to halt some U.S. exports of chips and chipmaking tools to China and in August announcing a ban on certain new U.S. investments in the industry. It has also added dozens of Chinese companies to the entity list, many over ties to China’s military . Advertisement · Scroll to continue Brite did not respond to requests for comment. The Commerce Department and the White House declined to comment. The […]
Click here to visit source. China chip firm powered by US tech and money avoids Biden’s crackdown