Scale, Vision & Pace: Why Sky9 Capital Believes That Chinese Startups Will Power Long-Term Global Economic Growth

Davos attendees discussing the future world economy should look to Chinese startups for inspiration and reassurance, believes a prominent VC founder and investor.

Ron Cao, Sky9 Capital’s founder and partner, has been one of the World Economic Forum (WEF) “Young Global Leaders” since 2013 and serves on the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software and IT.

Cao has witnessed the growth of Chinese startups first-hand, working as a VC for almost 20 years both in Silicon Valley and China. Now, he believes that Chinese startups are fast becoming the yardstick for scale, vision and pace that companies around the world will be measured by. This will impact global economic growth in the medium to long-term, making it an important point for international political and business leaders to discuss when they gather at Davos next week.

“What’s happening in China is so relevant on a global scale,” Cao says. Factors include the speed that Chinese tech startups take to reach IPO (an average of five years, compared to nine for similar companies going public in the US), as well as the high quality of Chinese entrepreneurs and the country’s evolving venture capital market. In fact, Sky9 Capital has seen four of its teams’ investments reach IPO in the last 15 months: Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:PDD), Meituan-Dianping (HKSE: 3690), Rong360 (NYSE:JT) and PPDai (NYSE:PPDF).

These changes will have a powerful impact on the global economy, argues Cao, as they open the way for new types of companies and boost consumer spending.

“Venture Capital is such a core part of what’s driving China’s growth, funding some of the best, brightest ideas and the most talented people, which means innovation in technology and innovation in business models. We’re driving China’s future economy in ways that will benefit the entire world,” Cao concludes.