“AI 2.0 is the greatest technological and platform revolution in human history. At this stage, the performance of large models continues to rise while the cost of inference is rapidly decreasing, laying a solid foundation for the explosion of AI 2.0 applications. It is foreseeable that disruptive AI First applications will appear successively in different fields, and soon usher in a rapid rise.” Dr. Kaifu Lee, Chairman of Innovation Works and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, said at the recent 2024 China Venture Capital Association (CVCA) Annual Conference and PE/VC Summit.
On the forum, Li Kaifu, Cai Wei, partner of Lightspeed China, and Pu Xiaoyan, partner of Sequoia China, and other professionals in the venture capital industry, discussed in depth from the perspectives of AI application, mergers and acquisitions, and explored market response strategies and forward-looking development opportunities in the current complex and ever-changing era cycle.
Many participating investors believe that in China, the AI field of hardware and applications will bring a lot of investment opportunities. Liang Yu, partner of Genesis Capital, said that looking at the entire system of artificial intelligence, China’s hardware is leading globally, which is indispensable, and a large number of Chinese enterprises are rising, which is full of opportunities.
Since the beginning of this year, China has continuously increased its support for the development of the AI field, issuing a series of policy measures to promote the research and application of AI technology. For example, increasing investment in basic AI research, encouraging enterprise innovation, and promoting the integration of AI with the real economy Depth.
In the future, how will AI assist in the development of various industries in China? What new development opportunities will it bring to which new fields? Which AI applications that have not been fully developed may become the next investment hot spot?
Kai-Fu Lee believes that AI 2.0 applications are expected to evolve in the following stages. The first stage is a productivity tool based on a large language model; The second phase will be AI search based on multimodal understanding; The next stage may be “multimodal social/entertainment” based on multimodal generation; In the fourth stage, applications such as “local life & e-commerce” based on full-modality + AI-agent (agent) ushered in an explosive period.
Guangsu’s partner Cai Wei said that AI can be seen as a system, not just software, it is composed of software and hardware, such as optical communication modules, power supplies, etc. The overall development of AI is a field with very strong β (beta) attributes in the coming years. Currently, the domestic Zhisuan Center is increasing its investment in AI hardware, including power supplies, liquid cooling solutions, and other rapidly growing demands.
In addition, we have found many opportunities in the application end, such as AI search products bringing faster and better experiences to everyone. Such application scenarios have long-term development needs.
In terms of specific application scenarios, Ma Chune, founder/CEO of Shukun Technology, stated that recently, three ministries have issued the definition of AI landing scenarios in the medical industry, marking a new development stage for AI + medical care in China, bringing abundant new opportunities to the industry. **First, with the popularization of AI application software, the “artificial intelligence doctor” is widely used, significantly improving diagnostic accuracy and medical efficiency. Secondly, AI empowerment has driven the “software-defined hardware”, with large hardware such as CT and MRI, and small hardware such as wearable devices and ultrasound, all undergoing intelligent upgrades and innovations, unleashing tremendous market potential.
“Finally, with the application of large-scale model technology, AI has rapidly developed in the fields of clinical diagnosis and treatment, specialty construction, and regional management, and gradually expanded to C-end services, promoting patient-centered, more professional and accessible full-lifecycle health management, greatly amplifying medical capacity, effectively improving the efficiency of medical resource utilization, and fully demonstrating the important role of AI as a new productive force,” said Ma Chune.
Chinese companies have a large number of backbone engineers and the most active and diligent product managers. In the view of Puru Xiaoyan, a partner of Sequoia China, their engineering capabilities, Algorithm capabilities, and the integrated design capabilities of software and hardware products are all huge advantages. The domestic hardware Supply Chain also provides a good anchor and opportunity for the development of embodied intelligence. AIGC combines hardware and integrates the advantages of the Supply Chain, which can be expected to bring about more innovation.
“From the perspective of the development of the AI industry, there is no significant difference between China and the United States. Various industries are facing the transformation of artificial intelligence, and there will be a lot of prospects and opportunities. At present, the TMT software industry is the fastest leading industry application, especially the application of generative AI, which is closely related to its industry attributes. Following closely is the financial industry, followed by the life and medical science industry, and the progress in other industries is almost the same.” Sun Xiaozhen, National Director of Cloud Services, Deloitte China Consulting Business, said.
With the deepening of domestic reform and the increasingly fierce international market competition, the issue of enterprise internationalization has been widely followed and valued by industry professionals. Economic globalization and regional economic integration also urgently require Chinese enterprises to implement international development strategies.
What are the main challenges for the internationalization of Chinese companies in the future? How can PE/VC integrate resources and industry expertise to empower the internationalization of Chinese companies?
Fengrui Capital’s founding partner Li Feng believes that the overseas expansion or globalization of Chinese companies needs to be based on their own stage and industry characteristics to develop strategies. From the results, overseas enterprises can be roughly divided into three categories.
“One type is fast-moving consumer goods, and these companies perform well in moderately developed or developing country markets. The second type is consumer goods empowered by cutting-edge technology, or tech consumer goods, such as drones, digital fitness equipment, new energy vehicles, etc., which are highly competitive in moderately developed and above countries and regions. The third type is hard-tech companies, such as tech innovation companies in related fields like chips and new materials, which perform well in the European market. Overall, no matter how companies choose their target overseas markets, they will face certain opportunities and challenges.” Li Feng said.
Chinese companies face different challenges when they go global or internationalize. Zhang Ruiyuan, a partner at GaoRui Law Firm, pointed out that many Chinese companies have a simple idea that going global means exporting, or simply transplanting some Chinese practices to the local area, without really facing the impact and influence of cultural differences and legal supervision in the local area.
“More and more companies and investors going global are changing their mindset. They have very specific plans for the company’s overseas expansion at a very early stage. Choosing the right region or country, building the appropriate corporate structure, gaining a deep understanding of the local market, showing respect for local cultural differences, managing local employees, dealing with local governments, and having knowledge of local regulations and supervision are all key factors for the success of Chinese companies going global,” said Zhang Ruiyuan.
EQT partner/Asia-Pacific healthcare industry leader Jiao Yan summed up that in recent years, the geopolitical situation and the anti-globalization trend have added some challenges and uncertainties to the internationalization of global enterprises. However, the internationalization of Chinese enterprises is a major trend, and it has also experienced several waves of development, from product exports in the 1990s to the rise of e-commerce after 2000, and the overseas mergers and acquisitions boom a few years ago. There have been some successful cases, but it is well known that this journey is not smooth sailing.
Source: Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily
Author: Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily
