Brian B. Su (苏丰原) is a U.S.–China cross-border strategy and risk advisor with 17+ years of experience, based in Springfield, Illinois, and founder of Artisan Business Group, Inc.

What does Brian B. Su advise on?

CFIUS and national-security review, export controls, economic sanctions, U.S. market entry, supply-chain realignment, geopolitical risk, transaction due diligence, and family-office matters.

How can you engage Brian?

Through Intelligence Briefs, project engagements, retained advisory, independent-director roles, and speaking. The simplest first step is to book a consultation.

Does my AI company need an export-control compliance program even if we only sell software?

Yes. U.S. export controls apply to software, model weights, and technical data — not just physical goods. If your AI product, its training pipeline, or the technical data behind it is subject to the EAR, you may need licenses to share it with foreign nationals inside the U.S. (deemed exports) or to ship it abroad. Many AI companies are surprised to learn that a foreign engineer on their team accessing controlled technical data is itself an export to that person's country of citizenship.

What is the U.S. outbound investment screening regime, and does it affect my fund?

The outbound investment regime restricts U.S. persons from certain investments in companies in countries of concern (currently China) that develop AI, quantum computing, or advanced semiconductors. It covers equity, joint ventures, and some fund commitments. If your fund, your LPs, or your portfolio companies have U.S. persons involved and any nexus to covered technology in China, a pre-investment screen is now standard practice — not optional.

When does a financing round trigger CFIUS for an AI company?

CFIUS review can be triggered by any foreign investment in a U.S. business involving critical technology, critical infrastructure, or sensitive personal data — categories that increasingly capture AI companies. Mandatory filings apply to certain investments involving foreign-government control or TID businesses. Even voluntary filings matter: a deal that closes without CFIUS review can be unwound later. If your round includes foreign investors — especially from China or other countries of concern — a CFIUS pre-screen should happen before the term sheet is signed.

We use a foreign foundry to manufacture our chips. What is our exposure?

Foreign foundry reliance creates overlapping risk: the chips themselves may be subject to the Foreign Direct Product Rule if they are the direct product of U.S. technology; the foundry may be on or near the Entity List; and the transfer of your design files to a foreign manufacturer may itself be an export. A supply-chain assessment maps each layer — foundry, packaging, IP, and end-use — so you know where your exposure sits and how to manage it.

Can you help us set up a deemed-export access-control system?

Yes. Deemed-export compliance for AI companies typically means controlling which employees and contractors can access controlled technical data, model weights, and training pipelines — and documenting that control. We help you design access tiers, screen foreign-national access, and build the internal processes that satisfy export-control requirements without crippling your engineering velocity.

AI & Frontier Technology Compliance

Compliance for AI, Robotics, and Advanced-Technology Companies

Export controls, outbound investment screening, CFIUS, and deemed-export compliance for the companies building the future — and the investors backing them.

Artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors, quantum computing, and robotics now sit at the center of U.S.–China strategic competition. The rules governing who can build them, fund them, and share them are changing faster than any other area of cross-border regulation. Artisan Business Group helps AI and deep-tech companies, their investors, and their boards understand which rules apply, where the exposure lies, and how to keep building without stepping across a line.

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Why Now

The regulatory net around advanced technology has tightened on three fronts at once.

U.S. export controls now treat advanced AI models, computing chips, and the software used to design them as items subject to the EAR — with new license requirements and foreign-direct-product reach that extends U.S. jurisdiction to foreign-made products.
The Outbound Investment Screening regime restricts U.S. persons from funding the development of certain AI, quantum, and advanced-semiconductor capabilities in countries of concern — a category that, for now, means China.
CFIUS scrutiny of AI-linked deals has intensified, with mandatory filings for foreign investments in U.S. businesses handling sensitive personal data or critical technology — categories that increasingly capture AI companies.

If you are building, funding, or acquiring AI technology with any U.S.–Asia nexus, compliance is no longer a downstream concern. It is a design constraint.

The Risk Most Teams Don't See

Most AI and deep-tech companies discover their compliance exposure only after it becomes a problem — a blocked hire because of deemed-export rules, a delayed funding round because of CFIUS, a frozen shipment because of a new Entity List designation, or a term sheet that falls apart when outbound investment screening surfaces. By then, the cost of fixing it is many times the cost of designing for it.

The deeper risk is invisible: a foreign national on your engineering team who accesses controlled technical data triggers a deemed export to their country of citizenship. A U.S. investor in your Series B with Chinese limited partners may create CFIUS exposure you never flagged. A model trained on a cloud instance in a covered country may be subject to export-control jurisdiction you did not anticipate. These are not edge cases — they are the everyday reality of building frontier technology across borders.

What We Advise On

AI Model & Chip Export Classification

ECCN and EAR99 classification for AI software, model weights, training pipelines, and advanced computing chips.

Deemed Export & Foreign-National Risk

Assessing who on your team can access controlled technology, and structuring R&D and hiring to manage deemed-export exposure.

Outbound Investment Screening

Determining whether a planned investment, joint venture, or fund commitment is a covered transaction under the U.S. outbound investment regime.

CFIUS Pre-Screening for AI Deals

Assessing whether a financing, acquisition, or minority investment triggers mandatory or voluntary CFIUS review.

Entity List & Restricted-Party Screening

Screening customers, partners, investors, and cloud providers against BIS, OFAC, and DoD restricted-party lists.

Technology Transfer & Licensing

Structuring IP licensing, R&D collaboration, and joint-development arrangements to stay within export-control and sanctions limits.

Data Security & Sensitive Personal Data

Mapping CFIUS sensitive-personal-data exposure for AI companies handling biometric, health, financial, or government data.

Supply-Chain & Foundry Dependency

Assessing reliance on foreign foundries, advanced packaging, and critical-mineral inputs under export-control and supply-chain-security rules.

Board-Level Risk Governance

Briefing boards and audit committees on AI-specific regulatory exposure and building internal compliance programs.

Who This Is For

AI & Deep-Tech Companies

Building across borders

Founders and engineering leaders building AI, robotics, quantum, or advanced-semiconductor products
Companies with foreign-national engineers or cross-border R&D teams
AI companies raising capital from foreign investors
Companies relying on foreign foundries, cloud providers, or critical-mineral supply chains
Startups that need a compliance program before their first export or financing

Investors & Funds

Backing frontier technology

Venture capital and private equity funds with U.S.–Asia exposure in either direction
Family offices investing in AI, semiconductor, or deep-tech companies
Funds with U.S. limited partners investing in covered-technology companies in China
Investors evaluating CFIUS or outbound-investment exposure before a deal closes
Fund managers building pre-investment screening protocols into their diligence process

How We Work

Scoping Call

A 30-minute consultation to understand your technology, team, investors, and the cross-border dimension of your situation.

Exposure Mapping

We classify your technology, screen your counterparties, and map your export-control, CFIUS, and outbound-investment exposure.

Compliance Design

A clear set of controls, structures, and guardrails — from deemed-export access controls to investment-screening protocols — built into how you operate.

Ongoing Monitoring

Tracking regulatory changes — new Entity List additions, rule expansions, outbound-investment updates — that shift your exposure over time.

Ways to Engage

Featured

AI Compliance Readiness Assessment

A structured review of your AI company's export-control, CFIUS, outbound-investment, and deemed-export exposure — with a prioritized action plan you can implement immediately.

From $5,000

10–15 business days

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Intelligence Briefs

A focused written assessment of a specific AI compliance question.

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Project Engagements

A structured project to build your AI compliance program end to end.

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Retained Advisory

Ongoing counsel as your AI company scales across borders.

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Why Work With Us

17+ years of U.S.–Asia cross-border advisory — including the export-control, CFIUS, and sanctions work that now defines AI compliance.

Independent Director of a Nasdaq-listed company — boardroom-level understanding of governance and regulatory risk.

Bilingual English and Mandarin — direct engagement with teams and counterparties on both sides.

Deep familiarity with the AI technology stack — from model training and compute supply chains to foundry relationships and cloud dependencies.

Cross-disciplinary coverage — export controls, CFIUS, outbound investment, and sanctions in one advisor, not four.

Strategic, not just legal — we work alongside your counsel to translate rules into decisions, not just memos.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to make compliance a design constraint, not a surprise?

Book a confidential consultation with Brian B. Su.

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Related Services

Export Controls & Sanctions CFIUS Advisory UFLPA / Forced-Labor Compliance Transaction Due Diligence China Regulatory & Countermeasures

Engagements available as Intelligence Briefs, Project Engagements, or Retained Advisory.

Artisan Business Group, Inc. is a strategic advisory firm — not a law firm, tax practice, securities broker-dealer, or investment adviser. AI and frontier-technology compliance engagements may involve export-control, CFIUS, sanctions, and securities matters that require coordination with licensed counsel. Artisan Business Group provides strategic guidance and works alongside clients' licensed legal, tax, and investment advisors.