Venture Capitalists Face Pressure to Divest From China
Sand Hill Road firms that chased China’s tech gold rush have been quietly plotting ways to distance themselves from a brewing conflict between the two superpowers.
Silicon Valley venture capitalists are coming to terms with a new reality: Their once-prized China investments may be victims of a simmering cold war.
As tensions between the U.S. and China have risen, some firms have sought ways to distance themselves from China’s tech scene. NEA, a VC firm whose Chinese investments date back two decades and include TikTok parent ByteDance, hasn’t made a new investment in China since 2021, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. And DCM, a U.S. VC firm with a focus on Chinese tech, has discussed giving its limited partners more say over their exposure to Chinese startups, according to a second person.