SpaceX Bars Chinese, Hong Kong Investors From IPO as OpenAI Weighs Similar Curbs Later in 2026
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 11
SpaceX Bars Chinese, Hong Kong Investors From IPO as OpenAI Weighs Similar Curbs Later in 2026
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 11
Summary
SpaceX will not allow investors from mainland China or Hong Kong to participate when its IPO begins trading this week, according to eight people familiar with the plans and discussions.
OpenAI is expected to adopt the same restriction in its own IPO later this year; one person said it has already blocked Chinese investors from private fundraising rounds.
Neither company has publicly explained the move, but both are major U.S. government contractors and Washington has intensified efforts to keep advanced AI technology out of China’s reach.
Bankers in the region said this appears to be the first time mainland Chinese and Hong Kong investors have been excluded from a major U.S. IPO, extending years of tighter limits on sensitive-sector investment.
The step underscores a broader U.S.-China pullback in trade, capital flows and scientific collaboration, especially around technology and national-security-linked industries.