> The VCs say China’s advances have made it difficult for Western startups to compete, and some have decided to halt investments in certain sectors or look for ways to collaborate with Chinese firms.
> China’s dominance in clean tech is attributed to its prioritization of energy security, willingness to let companies fail, and ability to rapidly onshore entire supply chains, making it challenging for Western companies to catch up.
It’s also not constrained to clean tech at all
notsussamong on
Link for the global poor?
indicisivedivide on
Clean energy will obviously be cheaper in a country that imports most of its oil and natural gas needs. Couple that with a weak currency it’s obvious that oil is expensive for most Asian countries. Many asian countries also have petrol tax to prevent over consumption to avoid too many imports. It’s obvious why solar and wind are cheaper in east and south asia. The US has a lot of oil and gas resources and low petrol tax, so it’s very cheap in the US. You eat what you produce, so it’s simply a question of resources in hand.
James_NY on
>[Planet A Ventures](https://archive.fo/o/ICcuL/https://planet-a.com/), a Berlin-based VC, has decided that investments in Western startups spanning battery manufacturing and recycling, electrolysers, solar and hardware for wind are no longer viable, says [Nick de la Forge](https://archive.fo/o/ICcuL/https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-de-la-forge/), general partner and co-founder of the firm. He says before the trip he’d suspected China was way ahead; but after going there, those sectors are now “strictly off the list.”
Yair Reem, a partner at Extantia Capital, says the trip has already led his firm to halt investments in Western battery cell manufacturers. Instead, they’ll look for ways to collaborate with Chinese firms across supply chains. When it comes to battery manufacturing in the West, China’s dominance means it’s now “game over,” according to Reem.
I don’t think necessarily think they’re wrong, but it seems like the article overlooked the implications for Venture Capital in general. The “investable” sectors seem to be shrinking rapidly across the spectrum.
dedev54 on
Chinese companies focus on the realities of competitive manufacturing and incremental technical progress at a scale that does not exist in the US. Like one Chinese firm talks about having plenty of suppliers who are eager to retool and meet their needs, in the US every other supplier is slowly going out of business or only does service work, and VCs play with funny money instead if trying to match this.
Maximilianne on
the problem is even if you had access to Chinese markets, you needed to get in very early, think of the fellow from Omaha who invested $$$ in a struggling wannabe car manufacturer in 08′ and compare that to the VCs investing in other upstart Chinese EV makers in the 2020’s
6 Comments
Archive for the global poors https://archive.ph/ICcuL
> The VCs say China’s advances have made it difficult for Western startups to compete, and some have decided to halt investments in certain sectors or look for ways to collaborate with Chinese firms.
> China’s dominance in clean tech is attributed to its prioritization of energy security, willingness to let companies fail, and ability to rapidly onshore entire supply chains, making it challenging for Western companies to catch up.
It’s also not constrained to clean tech at all
Link for the global poor?
Clean energy will obviously be cheaper in a country that imports most of its oil and natural gas needs. Couple that with a weak currency it’s obvious that oil is expensive for most Asian countries. Many asian countries also have petrol tax to prevent over consumption to avoid too many imports. It’s obvious why solar and wind are cheaper in east and south asia. The US has a lot of oil and gas resources and low petrol tax, so it’s very cheap in the US. You eat what you produce, so it’s simply a question of resources in hand.
>[Planet A Ventures](https://archive.fo/o/ICcuL/https://planet-a.com/), a Berlin-based VC, has decided that investments in Western startups spanning battery manufacturing and recycling, electrolysers, solar and hardware for wind are no longer viable, says [Nick de la Forge](https://archive.fo/o/ICcuL/https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-de-la-forge/), general partner and co-founder of the firm. He says before the trip he’d suspected China was way ahead; but after going there, those sectors are now “strictly off the list.”
Yair Reem, a partner at Extantia Capital, says the trip has already led his firm to halt investments in Western battery cell manufacturers. Instead, they’ll look for ways to collaborate with Chinese firms across supply chains. When it comes to battery manufacturing in the West, China’s dominance means it’s now “game over,” according to Reem.
[Ashwin Shashindranath](https://archive.fo/o/ICcuL/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashwinshashi/), a former Macquarie Group managing director who’s now a partner at [Energy Impact Partners](https://archive.fo/o/ICcuL/https://www.energyimpactpartners.com/), says what he saw on the trip made it “very clear” that Western investors live “in a bubble” in their misconceptions about China.
I don’t think necessarily think they’re wrong, but it seems like the article overlooked the implications for Venture Capital in general. The “investable” sectors seem to be shrinking rapidly across the spectrum.
Chinese companies focus on the realities of competitive manufacturing and incremental technical progress at a scale that does not exist in the US. Like one Chinese firm talks about having plenty of suppliers who are eager to retool and meet their needs, in the US every other supplier is slowly going out of business or only does service work, and VCs play with funny money instead if trying to match this.
the problem is even if you had access to Chinese markets, you needed to get in very early, think of the fellow from Omaha who invested $$$ in a struggling wannabe car manufacturer in 08′ and compare that to the VCs investing in other upstart Chinese EV makers in the 2020’s