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Steven Millward · · 3 min readWhat slowdown? China’s tech funding rockets to $79b in 2018
China’s technology firms saw a record US$79.2 billion in funding in 2018, despite a number of tech businesses – high-profile startups and well-established names alike – struggling or even going bust.
Pulled from the Tech in Asia Database, the bumper tally is the biggest leap in disclosed China tech investments since 2015:
The average deal size fell this year as a record number of startups attracted venture capital cash.
2018’s rocketing tech funding defied long-rumbling fears and general pessimism around an economic slowdown in China.
A breakdown of funding stages reveals more money than ever going to series C rounds (investments where the round/stage is undisclosed are not shown in this particular chart):
However, Edith Yeung, former tech executive turned venture capital partner at 500 Startups, has observed startup valuations declining in China during 2018.
That’s “mainly because IPOs this year did not do so well,” she tells Tech in Asia.
Indeed, the majority of recent IPOs in the US this year, which included China’s Tencent Music, Pinduoduo, and Nio, are down from their stock market debuts.
Ride-hailing pulls in most cash
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