In Silicon Valley, the typical narrative around any innovation follows a similar pattern: [Insert industry] has not changed in [Insert arbitrary large number] years. They are still using [insert choice of antiquated technology: fax machines, excel sheets, mainframe computers] to conduct their business. Therefore, technology startups are poised to disrupt it — with a new approach, […]
Category: Insights
How we early-backed Cootek, now China’s most global software company, with 132 Million DAU in 240 countries, going Public on the NYSE on September 28
Sometimes, taking a company public only takes only three years, like with Cathay Innovation invested Pinduoduo, but most of the time it takes much longer. September 28 2018 is a very special day for us, because it is the day CooTek is going public on the NYSE (NYSE:CTK) at a multi billion dollar valuation. We invested […]
‘The future will be won or lost on this technology. I’m very concerned’: The co-founder of a $9 billion company warns that China is on track to dominate the US in AI
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PinDuoDuo: how they became the fastest growing commerce company ever
PinDuoDuo (PDD) rang the Nasdaq bell last week and ended day 1 trading at a valuation of ~$30 billion. As an early investor supporting the Company, we witnessed first hand what they did to achieve this amazing milestone. Below is a summary on what PDD is and how they become a commerce giant. […]
Help your ecosystem and your ecosystem will help you, the lesson taught by the uncontainable rise of PinDuoDuo
The US e-commerce ecosystem today is clearly dominated by a few giants, often making it harder for startups to innovate. Here’s an example, with each quarterly earnings call, Amazon continues to conquer US commerce and steamroll its competitors. Today, Amazon’s e-commerce market share in the US is nearly 50%. That’s more than three times the […]
Why I joined Cathay Innovation
I am an optimist. The mantra that startups can “change the world” (for the better) has long motivated entrepreneurs and investors. What’s most exciting is from where this change is coming from. While the global technology industry has been historically concentrated in one place — Silicon Valley — it is increasingly coming from everywhere. Remarkably, nearly […]
Peek, the company that is powering your next local experience
Studies show that more than half of US tech unicorns are founded by immigrants. When we met Peek’s founders, we were immediately convinced that Ruzwana Bashir and Oskar Bruening embodied the spirit and dedication that you can only really have when you come from abroad with the idea to create something big and special from […]
What it will take to power the revolution in mobility, and transportation as it appears at Movin’On conference
The current revolution underway may radically transform how we live our lives, and organize our society. Driverless piloting promises frictionless transportation over vast distances, in shorter times. Car sharing may dissolve our conception of car ownership. Vertical takeoff vehicles may move our commutes to the skies. Drones may change how we send or receive deliveries. […]
Meet our advisors: Denis Barrier, co-founder and CEO of Cathay Innovation
Denis Barrier started his career at Orange as a researcher working on quantum optics and physics around hardware and electronics. Soon after, the company began encouraging researchers to start companies using their work, with the aim of funding these spin-off startups. “I joined Orange’s investment arm Innovacom to create this seed capital program,” Denis said. […]
Nicolas du Cray (Cathay Innovation): “The speed of digitalization in China has been incredible”
An investment professional with over 15 years’ experience in the TMT sector, Nicolas du Cray is a China-based partner at Cathay Innovation, a €250m venture capital fund created in association with Cathay Capital Private Equity, which supports digital entrepreneurs across North America, Europe and China. Here he gives his insight on the investment strategy of […]