Sequoia’s Neil Shen is very bullish on China’s tech industry but warns of ‘bumpy road’
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A top venture capitalist who has backed some of China’s biggest internet giants said he remained “very bullish” about the long-term prospects for country’s consumer economy as more people move from the countryside to cities.
“We’re still in the early stage of urbanisation,” Neil Shen, founding partner of Sequoia Capital China, said at a conference in Guangzhou on Thursday. “Consumption will gradually increase as that matures.”
The tech industry will also continue to grow by disrupting and gaining market share from traditional industries, though it will be a “bumpy road,” he said at the Fortune Global Tech Forum 2018.
The 51-year-old founded Sequoia Capital China in 2005 and is regarded as one of the country’s most influential start-up investors.
About 60 per cent of Sequoia China’s investments are invested in early-stage start-ups, according to researcher ITJUZI. Sequoia China currently runs several funds with more than 200 billion yuan (US$28.8 billion) under management, ITJUZI said.