This article is more than 6 years old.
Another year is ending, and China tech innovation and venture capital continue to be in the headlines quite regularly.
A look back at the year 2017 underscores some of the most significant developments over the past 12 months in China's ongoing technology revolution and its challenge to other dominant hubs globally.
- the rise of China as a leading contender in artificial intelligence and its impact on transportation, retail, finance, robotics and many other economic sectors. Think Baidu.
- China's contribution to the sharing economy for bikes, taxis, sports equipment and even umbrellas. Think Didi, Ofo, Mobike.
- the advances in China's retail sector that have led to cash-less and staff-less stores. Think Bingo Box and F5 Future.
- a new generation of venture capitalists who have spun out smaller VC funds from established global or successful local players such as Kleiner Perkins, NEA, Khosla and IDG-Accel. Think Wei Zhou, Xiaodong Jiang, Andrew Chung, Feng Li.
- the rise of China's unicorns, now accounting for nearly one-fourth of the world's total, ranked second after the U.S. China contributed many newcomers to the list. Think SenseTime, Ofo, Mobike, ByteDance, VIPKid, URWork and NIO.
- China's position in venture capital investment soars to match the level of US, checking in at $50 billion, if RMB funds are counted in the tally.
- Cloud computing is catching on in China. Think DT Dream and Qingcloud.
- China IPOs in New York rebound to 16 in 2017, back to record levels of 2014 and surging past the doldrums earlier in this decade. Think LexinFintech.
- a reinforcement of the bridge between China and Israel for fund-raising and strategic development.
On the downside, there was in 2017: - continuing issues over sexual discrimination and harassment charges at well-known venture firms. We won't go into names here - they're already high profile enough.
- China's ban on the trading of cryptocurrencies. Think bitcoin.
