Airwallex, a global payments company valued at $8 billion, is reportedly moving staff out of China following explosive allegations that its operational footprint there creates a potential “Chinese backdoor” to sensitive US customer data.
The accusations, first raised publicly by venture capitalist Keith Rabois on December 1, 2025, have snowballed into a full-blown geopolitical controversy. One that now involves a US senator, questions about Chinese intelligence law, and a client list that includes Coinbase and defense contractor Anduril.
What Rabois actually alleged
Rabois pointed to a simple but uncomfortable fact: roughly 40% of Airwallex’s approximately 1,700 employees are based in mainland China and Hong Kong. For a company processing data for US AI labs and defense contractors, that ratio raised eyebrows.
The core of his argument centers on Chinese national intelligence laws. Those laws require Chinese citizens and organizations to cooperate with state intelligence efforts when asked.
