US to add SenseTime to investment blacklist ahead of IPO

SenseTime, which is expected to price its Hong Kong initial public offering on same day, will be added to a list of 'Chinese military-industrial companies' in which Americans are banned from investing

The U.S. will place SenseTime Group Inc. on an investment blacklist Friday, accusing the artificial intelligence startup of enabling human rights abuses, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

SenseTime, which is expected to price its Hong Kong initial public offering on the same day, will be added to a list of “Chinese military-industrial complex companies” in which Americans are banned from investing, the person said, asking not to be identified as information is private. The company is already blacklisted under the Commerce Department’s entity list, which prevents it from accessing key U.S. suppliers and technologies. 

Adding SenseTime to the list