Prior to his tenure as a senator, Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was an astronaut and also co-founded a company focused on surveillance balloons. This venture received partial funding from a venture capitalist in China, who has significant connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
Kelly is reportedly on a shortlist of potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris and co-founded World View in Tucson, Arizona, in 2012, aiming to make space tourism accessible through the use of stratospheric balloons.
Initially centered on space tourism, Kelly’s company has shifted its focus alongside the advancing technology of the organization.
“As we evolved our technology, we identified immediate applications for our solutions in remote sensing services for defense, scientific, and commercial clients,” a spokesperson for World View shared with Fox News Digital. “Our primary operations now involve supplying remote sensing services to the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies, offering intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, and aiding scientific organizations like NASA and NOAA to gain insights into Earth from the unique stratospheric layer.”
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Sen. Mark Kelly speaks with reporters while waiting to catch the Senate subway to the Hart Senate Office Building from the U.S. Capitol on July 25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
According to Axios, shortly after World View was established, it procured venture capital from Tencent in 2013 and again in 2016.
Tencent, one of China’s largest corporations, was founded in 1998 by “Pony” Ma Huateng, Zhang Zhidong, Xu Chenye, Chen Yidan, and Zeng Liqing. Forbes listed Ma as the fourth-richest individual in China last year, with a net worth of $32.1 billion, and he also serves as Tencent’s CEO.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2021 that Tencent amassed a vast amount of data from its mobile app WeChat, which is the leading social media platform in China. The data was gathered by analyzing chat conversations and financial transactions from its more than one billion monthly active users, the majority of whom are located in China. This has turned WeChat into a potent surveillance tool for the Chinese government, which reportedly oversees Tencent and often forces it to censor dissent.
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In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, on Saturday, Feb. 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
Regarding Tencent’s relationship with the Chinese government, World View clarified to Fox News Digital on Saturday that the company maintains “zero access, zero input and zero control” by Tencent.
“The current leadership felt that accepting Chinese investment was a mistake,” a company spokesperson remarked. “When new leadership took over in 2019 and learned of that investment, they acted quickly to shield World View from any involvement by Chinese investors’ representatives.”
Nevertheless, the company’s early connections with Chinese capitalists may raise concerns as Kelly is considered for the vice presidency, particularly following the incident where a Chinese surveillance balloon traversed the U.S. in February 2023, leading to it being shot down by a fighter jet off South Carolina’s coast.
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Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly co-founded a company that specializes in spy balloons, which was funded, in part, by a venture capitalist in China with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The surveillance balloon incident heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, raising concerns about potential Chinese espionage on American soil.
Kelly resigned from his role at World View in 2019 in preparation for his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
The company spokesperson emphasized that Kelly’s remaining financial interest in World View is managed within a blind trust, noting that Kelly relinquished all access, interest, and authority over the business upon his departure.
Axios reported that in 2014, Jane Poynter, former CEO of World View, mentioned to a Chinese outlet, Pengpai, that Kelly had met with Tencent USA’s head, David Wallerstein, and “presented space tourism technology to him.”
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A Chinese balloon was flown over the U.S., causing tension between the two nations. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
In a 2020 interview with The Arizona Republic, Kelly mentioned having a “very brief conversation” with someone from Tencent that lasted only from 30 seconds to a minute.
Kelly did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiries regarding this issue.
The New York Times recently highlighted Kelly’s accomplishments as a Navy veteran within the political landscape. The outlet consulted Republican strategist Daniel Scarpinato, who commented on potential challenges Kelly might face if chosen as a vice-presidential contender.
“Mr. Kelly has yet to endure the intense scrutiny of a national campaign, and he carries potential political liabilities, such as his ties to a surveillance balloon company he helped establish with Chinese venture capital,” the New York Times reported, citing Scarpinato’s perspective.
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Scarpinato was not available for further commentary.
In addition to surveillance services, World View provides remote sensing services to various sectors, including oil and gas, utilities, mining, shipping, and insurance.
