The UK government has blocked the University of Manchester from sharing vision-sensing technology with a Chinese firm for the first time, according to media reports on Friday.
According to the South China Morning Post, Kwasi Kwarteng, the secretary for business, energy, and industrial strategy, stopped the university from sharing vision-sensing technology, that could be used in cameras, with Beijing Infinite Vision Technology.
“There is a potential that the technology could be used to build defence or technological capabilities, which may present national security risk to the United Kingdom,” Kwarteng said in the order.
“Those risks would arise on the transfer of the intellectual property to the acquirer.”
The University of Manchester and the Acquirer have entered into a licence agreement under which the Acquirer will be able to use intellectual property relating to SCAMP-5 and SCAMP7 vision sensing technology to develop, test and verify, manufacture, use, and sell licenced products.
It was the first time the UK government used new powers granted by the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to block a deal.
“The Secretary of State considers there is potential that the technology could be used to build defence or technological capabilities which may present national security risk to the UK and those risks would arise on the transfer of the intellectual property to the Acquirer,” read the final order.
“The Secretary of State considers that the final order is necessary and proportionate to mitigate the risk to national security,” it added.
According to the report, Kwarteng is conducting a separate full national security assessment of Nexperia’s $75 million acquisition last year of the country’s largest semiconductor maker, Newport Wafer Fab, by Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of China’s Wingtech Technology.
