China’s Not-So-Secret Goal To “Crush” Silicon Valley
America’s wide lead in venture capital is fading, threatened by Asia and its rising brain center: China. A surge of new money from China and the rest of Asia helped drive funding totals to the stratosphere and transformed the venture landscape. Last year Asia directed 40 percent of the global total versus 44 percent from the United States. China’s share was 24 percent, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. Just a decade ago China’s share of VC spending in start-ups globally was less than 5 percent.
That tidal wave of Chinese cash into promising new start-ups could herald a shift in who controls innovation and the world’s technological advantage. Already we are seeing the trend play out in CNBC‘s 2018 Disruptor 50 list, released Tuesday. For the first time, two of the unicorns on the list are mammoth Chinese unicorns — Didi Chuxing and Xiaomi — each of which has attracted billions in equity financing.
To read more of Rebecca Fannin’s article in CNBC, click here: China crushin it.
Photo above: Hans Tung of GGV Capital and Gary Rieschel of Qiming Venture Partners
