Xia Zuoquan, a Chinese billionaire investor who made his fortune co-founding electric vehicle giant BYD, told the Post last week that he is sceptical that a ChatGPT-level product will be born in China soon.
However, Tan said BRV is committed to investing in China’s AI sector. The venture capital firm is set to allocate over 50 per cent of its new 5.5 billion yuan (US$817 million) fund, raised in May last year, to AI start-ups, he said.
US venture giant Sequoia Capital announced last month it was spinning off its Chinese arm into an independent operation named HongShan, as part of a global restructuring that also created a separate brand focused on operations in India and Southeast Asia.
Tan said geopolitical risks are “less of an issue” for BRV China, as the company has always been run separately from its US sibling even though they operate under the same brand name.
BRV China’s decisions are made independently, and there is no sharing of profits and back-office services, Tan added.
Still, scrutiny of Chinese investments in the US venture capital industry is growing.
Several American venture capital firms – including GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Walden International and Qualcomm Ventures – are being investigated by a US congressional committee for their funding of chip, AI and quantum computing companies in China, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.
