What to Know about CFIUS
The a16z Show
a16z
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2019
⏱️ 46 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | The content here is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal business tax |
| 0:05.6 | or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security and is not directed |
| 0:10.3 | at any investors or potential investors in any A16Z fund. For more details, please see A16Z.com |
| 0:16.8 | slash disclosures. Hi, everyone. Welcome to the A6 and C podcast. Today's episode is all about Sipheus, the committee |
| 0:23.8 | on foreign investment in the United States and their proposed updates to Ferma, or the Foreign |
| 0:28.3 | Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, which took place in September 2019. |
| 0:34.1 | The conversation was hosted by Andreessen Horowitz as part of an event for founders and others, |
| 0:38.6 | with General Partner Katie Hahn interviewing Michael Leiter, a partner at law firm Skadden-Arps |
| 0:43.8 | at all, who covers national security, cybersecurity, and privacy, Sipheus and more, |
| 0:48.5 | which is what this Q&A is all about, covering what it involves and doesn't, |
| 0:52.7 | to how to think about and structure your business |
| 0:54.5 | and partnership strategically as a result. But the conversation begins with what Sipheus is. |
| 1:00.2 | So Sipheus stands for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. And the basic |
| 1:05.5 | function of Sipheus is to review any foreign investment in a U.S. business that produces national security concerns. |
| 1:13.6 | So that sounds relatively basic. It's this big interagency body. Everything in Washington is interagency. |
| 1:19.7 | And how many agencies? |
| 1:21.6 | 13 agencies. It's run by the Department of Treasury. Unsurprising, because it's about foreign investment in the United States, |
| 1:28.4 | and it has traditionally sort of split between two different camps. |
| 1:33.2 | Historically, it was those parts of the U.S. government that wanted foreign investment in the United |
| 1:37.4 | States, Treasury, the U.S. Trade Representatives, State Department, their job is to do this. |
| 1:43.6 | And those agencies that didn't necessarily want investment |
| 1:47.7 | were at least more concerned about security. |
... |
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