The US Commerce Department added Chinese artificial intelligence unicorn Zhipu to its trade blacklist on allegations it supports the Chinese military, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday.

Zhipu is among the 27 companies, 25 of which are from China and two from Singapore, that received a flurry of sanctions in outgoing US President Joe Biden's last hurrah before leaving office, the report said.

The blacklist restricts companies from transacting with US companies without special government approval, the report said.

Zhipu said its blacklisting "lacks a factual basis," adding the action will "not have a substantial impact" on the company's operations, the report said.

Zhipu is among China's AI giants that are seen to help the country compete technologically with the US. Among its investors are Alibaba (HKG:9988), Tencent (HKG:0700), and HongShan Capital as its investors.

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