Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. tech mogul based in Shanghai with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is accused of leveraging a network of American nonprofits to fuel opposition to artificial intelligence development and data center expansion in the United States. A report from the Bitcoin Policy Institute alleges that for the past five years, Singham-funded organizations have produced research opposing export controls on advanced semiconductors to China, distributed newsletters quoting Chinese officials criticizing U.S. tech policy, and framed American data centers as battlegrounds in a new Cold War on China
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Network of Nonprofits and Political Groups
Lawmakers including Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Brett Guthrie have called for federal investigations into the influence operation. Cotton urged the Department of Justice to examine foreign influence efforts targeting the buildout of American AI infrastructure
in a June letter to acting attorney general Todd Blanche. The nonprofits in question include Code Pink, the New York City event space The People's Forum, and the Massachusetts-based think tank Tricontinental, where Singham chairs the international advisory board.
Tricontinental's executive director, Vijay Prashad, described Singham in 2021 as a Marxist with a massive software company
while acknowledging his funding role. The think tank's 2021 paper, Big Tech and the Current Challenges Facing the Class Struggle, highlighted China's reliance on U.S. semiconductor technology as a vulnerability, writing that American export controls could delay or even block China's progress
in the tech race. This analysis preceded the Biden administration's 2022 imposition of stringent chip export restrictions by over a year.
Geopolitical Stakes in AI and Semiconductor Control
The Singham network's activities reflect a broader Chinese strategy to exploit ideological divisions within the U.S., mirroring past efforts by other state actors to influence domestic debates. While U.S. policymakers have long monitored Russian and Iranian disinformation, the use of American nonprofits to advance Chinese technological interests represents an evolving tactic. The Bitcoin Policy Institute report warns that such campaigns aim to create the illusion of grassroots opposition to U.S. tech policy while serving foreign interests.
Recent local battles over data center construction illustrate the real-world impact. In March 2026, Charlotte, N.C., approved a five-month moratorium on data centers following organizing by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which has deep ties to Singham-funded entities. The PSL's co-founder, Brian Becker, hosts a podcast at Singham-backed BreakThroughNews, which operates from the People's Forum in New York. Critics argue these groups amplify Chinese narratives about American tech policy under the guise of domestic activism.
The New York Times has previously identified Singham as part of a global web of Chinese propaganda
that cultivates foreign proxies to echo Beijing's messaging. This approach allows state media to amplify content originally published by the nonprofits, creating a feedback loop that blurs the lines between foreign influence and domestic discourse. The Biden administration has not publicly commented on the specific allegations against Singham, who remains in Shanghai, beyond reiterating commitments to safeguarding U.S. technology leadership.