Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party have written to the CEO of Anzu Robotics, seeking clarification about the company's relationship with DJI, a People’s Republic of China (PRC) military drone company. In separate correspondence to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, they presented evidence suggesting Anzu's concerning ties with DJI and requested that the Commerce Department consider measures to address potential threats posed by Anzu and another drone maker, Cogito Tech Company Ltd.
In their letter to Anzu’s CEO Randall Warnas, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi stated, “[S]ecurity researchers have confirmed that Anzu’s Raptor T is essentially a DJI Mavic 3 painted green, with its remote control and application all running on DJI technology… Based in part on your own statements, it appears that DJI is using Anzu as a passthrough company in an attempt to avoid current and anticipated U.S. restrictions on DJI products. Even more disturbingly, we found that Anzu’s CEO admitted in a recent interview that the primary purpose of the DJI-Anzu relationship was to circumvent growing U.S. legislative restrictions on DJI products.”
They continued, “The nature of the DJI-Anzu relationship appears to defy common business conventions. For instance, Anzu claims that DJI is providing its industry-leading drone technology through a license that gives ‘Anzu Robotics the rights to modify and manufacture this technology at will. There are no royalties shared with the licensing organization, no joint or shared ownership of Anzu Robotics, and no reporting on customer data.’ On top of that, according to presentations provided by Anzu, DJI is also offering ‘priority technical support’ for all Anzu drones. Given these facts, it is hard to understand the business rationale for DJI entering into this relationship aside from using it as a passthrough to circumvent legal restrictions placed on its products.”
Due to these concerns about Anzu's ties with PRC military drone company DJI, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi have asked several questions from Anzu’s CEO:
1. When did Anzu first publicly disclose its drones are rebranded DJI products or heavily rely on DJI technology?
2. Why did Anzu not disclose its relationship with DJI until after public reports confirmed it was selling rebranded DJI products?
3. Provide copies of all contractual arrangements between your company and DJI.
4. List names, locations, and contact information for Malaysian factories producing parts for Anzu products.
5. List names, locations, and contact information for entities contributing software and firmware within Anzu products.
6. Describe all benefits received by DJI from its licensing agreement with Anzu.
7. Explain why DJI provides technical support for Anzu products.
8. Outline steps taken to ensure data protection from U.S customers during technical support by DJI.
9. List all parts manufactured in PRC-owned or controlled factories used in Anzu Robotics drones.
10. Identify all onboard chips produced by DJI within Anzu products.
11. Does Anzu acknowledge its products fall under U.S restrictions like those applied to DJI? If not, provide legal arguments against this position.
12. Provide a chronology of engagements between your company and DJI before formal establishment.
13. Describe your personal employment history with DJI from 2015-2017.
Background:
Over the past year, Congress has acted against national security threats posed by PRC drone companies like DJU due to their deep partnership with China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA), allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), surveillance operations across U.S soil; including facilitating genocide against Uyghur people in Xinjiang.
The House passed the Countering CCP Drones Act which would prohibit access of DJU technology into U.S communication networks if signed into law while Pentagon blacklisted DJU as 'Chinese military company.' The Treasury Department forbids American investments in DJU while Commerce Department restricts exporting technology towards them too who sought escape prohibitions via white labeling under Texas-based firm named "Ansu Robotics". Research reveals 'Ansu Drones' apparently are DJU drones painted differently operated through same software/technology.
