[cainxinth]

> Reuters spoke to seven former NewsBreak employees, including five who said most of the engineering work behind the app's algorithm is carried out in its China-based offices.

> NewsBreak is a privately held start-up, whose primary backers are private equity firms San Francisco-based Francisco Partners, and Beijing-based IDG Capital, NewsBreak told Reuters.

> In February, IDG Capital was added to a list of dozens of Chinese companies the Pentagon said were allegedly working with Beijing's military.

> A 2022 company roster reviewed by Reuters showed that 100 of NewsBreak's 137 engineers at the time were based in China.

> Pearlstine, the former NewsBreak consultant, said NewsBreak's ability to demonstrate it is a U.S. company was critical. "The long term health of NewsBreak was dependent on its being perceived as a California company and that the more the leadership was in Mountain View, the better it would be for the company," he said.