VCs pause investment in China
If you are reading this blog regularly, you already know that I keenly follow the happenings in China. The main idea is that we are seeing a “Clash of the Titans” screenplay play out in front of us where the US and China are fighting it out for the pole position in global influence and thereby dominance. This is going to have far-reaching consequences across many dimensions including business.
In this article in the Foreign Policy magazine, the writer argues that the VCs of Silicon Valley are actually the early movers in pulling money and interest away from China due to geopolitical concerns.
After flocking to China for more than a decade, American venture capitalists have significantly curtailed their exposure to the country’s technology sector in recent years, in large part due to increasing geopolitical tensions and increasing investment restrictions in both Washington and Beijing.
According to data from research firm PitchBook, U.S. investors participated in deals worth $7.2 billion in China’s tech industry last year, down from its recent peak of $35.6 billion in 2018. The number of deals also fell to its lowest level in five years. Market intelligence firm S&P Global, which published similar figures, blamed a cocktail of China’s strict zero-COVID policy, the resulting supply chain issues, and escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington “causing some investors to proceed with caution.”
This graphic from the article sums up the picture quite well.
The latest health monitor is likely to be your mobile phone
This article, from the BBC, highlights the developments in health monitoring using the mobile phone.
In March 2022, scientists at the University of Washington used an iPhone to detect clotting in a single drop of blood.
In a more recent development, the team also used the vibration motor and camera on a smartphone to track the movement of a speck of copper in a drop of blood to assess clotting.
Researchers at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Hangzhou Normal University, in Zhejiang, China, have developed algorithms that can pick up on imperceptible changes in facial blood flow from self-shot videos using the front-facing cameras on smartphones.
Another team of Chinese scientists have developed deep-learning algorithms that can pick up on other signs of heart health from four pictures taken using a smartphone – a front-on view, two profiles and one looking down from on the top of the head. The algorithm seemed to focus on subtle changes in the cheeks, forehead and nose in particular, such as wrinkles and creases and fatty deposits beneath the skin that are hard to detect with the human eye.
Thought of the Week:
Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.
~ Epictetus, The Art of Living
This is so true even for investors. We tend to get swayed by the crowd. Listen to random people on social media and deploy our hard-earned money based on tips or FOMO.
We need to focus our attention on what is important and relevant for us.
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