China's Ant Group plans to sell EyeVerify, U.S.-based biometric security firm that scans your eyeballs

China's Ant Group plans to sell off its U.S.-based biometric security firm EyeVerify, which identifies you by scanning your eyeballs. The sale comes as tension grows between Beijing and Washington over how and where sensitive user data is hosted, the Financial Times reports.

From Reuters:

EyeVerify, based in Kansas City, Missouri, designs eye verification technology for mobile devices which is used by U.S. banks including Wells Fargo.

Ant bought EyeVerify for $100 million in 2016, a purchase which was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the panel that scrutinises deals for potential national security risks.

A senior Ant executive told the FT that the company had not collected data from EyeVerify's eyeball scans.

More at the Financial Times (paywall): Ant plans sale of prized US asset as user data scrutiny intensifies