The party’s over for Chinese venture capitalists in Silicon Valley amid souring Sino-US relations
- In the late 2010s, Chinese venture capitalists poured billions into Silicon Valley. Then came Donald Trump, a chill in bilateral relations and investment curbs
Michael made his fortune in electronics, starting an appliance company right out of university. He rode the astronomical growth of China’s economy in the early 21st century, selling his company to one of the country’s technology giants.
In late 2011, he moved to the United States – partly motivated, he says, by a huge sandstorm that had affected his children’s health. He settled in Irvine, California, and was soon invited into an exclusive club of investors, wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs who had made their own ways in real estate, mining and IT.
The next few years were a whirlwind. Friends in China kept calling him, asking if he could connect them to people in Silicon Valley. Almost every month, he would host a Chinese delegation, introducing them to American start-ups and venture capitalists.
“It felt like everyone had so much money to invest, they would fight for deals and compete to sign memorandums,” says Michael, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because he has since moved back to China.
“It’s almost like they were afraid that they would lose the opportunity to make a great fortune if they acted slowly.”
