"Investing in cutting-edge technology is like climbing a mountain. How to see the top of the mountain in the 'fog' and then move forward steadily is a question worth pondering." said Zhao Feng, partner of Sidao Capital, IEEE Fellow.
The "top of the mountain" of cutting-edge technology appears and disappears from time to time, with many uncertainties. At the same time, the implementation of technology commercially still requires solving a variety of challenges.
"Patility is a feature of Sidao. We will firmly grow with the company and provide entrepreneurs with all-round resources." Zhao Feng added.
pic | Zhao Feng (Source: Data Picture)
Recently, Dr. Zhao Feng was appointed as a partner by Stor Capital, a global venture capital institution, to increase Stor's investment capabilities in cutting-edge technology fields.
Stao Capital said: "Dr. Zhao will lead the Stao cutting-edge technology team to find early investment opportunities in the Chinese market, focusing on the fields of next-generation semiconductors, Internet of Things (IoT) and software technology. Continue to deepen the layout of core technology fields and consolidate thematic investment strategies based on in-depth research."
In the current context of China's various industries turning to digitalization and intelligence, the demand for technology, especially cutting-edge technology, is growing rapidly, for example, in emerging industries such as new energy and electric vehicles.
Zhao Feng mentioned that chips, software, etc. are actually important foundations to support the digitalization and intelligence of the industry. He will first focus on several fields such as semiconductors and software, and later on to other aspects of cutting-edge technology.
Nowadays, more and more applications need chips with better performance, lower energy consumption, and lower cost. With the help of domestic substitution, under the influence of various factors, it has created an urgent need for cutting-edge technologies such as semiconductors. This puts high demands on the entire industrial chain of chips.
It is understood that Zhao Feng joined Stor Capital as an investment partner two years ago to assist Stor to improve the construction of its global science and technology ecosystem and explore the investment framework in the early cutting-edge science and technology field. During this period, he took the lead in investing in projects such as micro-core technology, a leader in the open source processor industry, and Lanzhou Technology, a cognitive intelligence company.
Frontier Technology Layout: Technology Fund Investment Strategy continues
Frontier Technology is defined as a relatively early technology, but once it is implemented, it will bring huge value to the industry and society. Productization and commercialization require a trial and error process, which is very consistent with the long-term investment philosophy adhered to by Sidao Capital.
"Stao has been constantly improving and verifying our investment logic and methodology in the field of science and technology, and practicing it in key and subdivided fields. This investment strategy is a thematic investment based on in-depth research on industry and technology development trends, and at the same time building an ecosystem in the field of science and technology to support our investment strategy." When talking about Sitao Capital's layout and differentiated advantages in cutting-edge technology, Zhao Feng said.
He further explained that in the early stages of the development of cutting-edge technology startups, there were generally no products. In this case, it is more challenging to judge a company. This requires more on the basis of in-depth research on industries and technological trends, we should look for opportunities with a very large market space.
In addition to in-depth research on the industry and technology, it also requires a rich and powerful ecological network, including entrepreneurs, industrial resources, expert consultants, and other investors with similar concepts. The key is to select a team and judge its technical implementation and time window through feedback from various aspects such as industrial applications.
In addition to our thematic investment strategy based on in-depth research, Stor Capital is a global platform that can provide better possibilities for startups with a wider range of tentacles and horizons.We can also see cutting-edge technologies that are emerging around the world, making up for the information gap between various markets to a certain extent. Sidao's long-term investment philosophy allows us to pay attention to a track for a long time and grow with invested companies.
In addition, Zhao Feng also mentioned that the team, core technologies, barriers and differentiation, and whether technology can be quickly transformed into products that conform to business logic, are all very important for cutting-edge technology companies. Technology ultimately needs to become a product, and the product must be valuable to users.
Take the team as an example. Since cutting-edge technology companies are largely driven by technology, the founding team generally have top engineers or scientists, especially the founders have strong technical backgrounds.
"Front-term technology is driven by technology, but it also needs to be implemented in business," said Zhao Feng. "The core technology development capabilities of the founding team are an important differentiated advantage. We also need to see whether the team has the ability to develop and implement products." In these aspects, Sidao hopes to provide all-round support to the founding team based on specific circumstances.
"Accompanying startups to grow together is an important concept of Sidao and it is also our value," said Zhao Feng.
For example, Micro-core Technology, which was previously invested by Sdo (mainly engaged in the research and development of general-purpose processors based on the open source RISC-V architecture), is a typical project that reflects Sdo's cutting-edge technology investment methods. Through the network ecosystem, the project was discovered in a relatively early stage and it was judged that the product commercialization prospects were huge, and the founding team was very excellent, which was in line with the investment strategy of Sidao Capital.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that Lanzhou Technology, a natural language processing (NLP) company invested by Stor Capital, and Taxi Microelectronics, which focuses on high-performance analog signal chain chip design, have also completed financing of billion this year respectively.
It is understood that Stor Capital is a global owned asset investment institution backed by Fidelity Group and is also one of the first venture capital institutions to enter China. Over the past 20 years, I have accumulated a lot of investment experience in the field of science and technology in China. So far, Sidao Capital has invested in more than 80 companies in the Chinese technology industry, covering corporate IT/frontier technology, financial technology , consumer technology and other fields. Globally, Stor Capital invests in more than 260 technology companies.
It is worth mentioning that in March this year, Stor Capital launched the second China Science and Technology Special Fund, with a total scale of US$350 million, and will mainly invest in early-stage and growth-stage companies. We hope to continue our previous successful experience and paths on the basis of verifying our previous investment ideas and continue to capture investment opportunities for the development of China's science and technology industry.
Stor Capital mentioned, "China is continuing to accelerate its development of its technology industry, which has created a good environment for the rapid development of cutting-edge hard technology and innovation. Dr. Zhao Feng has a wide network of relationships and rich industry experience, and is fully capable of leading our cutting-edge technology team to find new opportunities and support visionary entrepreneurs to promote the next generation of technological innovation."
Zhao Feng is one of the founders of the Internet of Things and wireless sensor networks, and has made pioneering contributions to the development of basic research and core technologies of the Internet of Things. Representative achievements include Internet of Things IDSQ algorithm, SenseWeb system, high-efficiency IDC green computing, etc. He has had a significant impact on the large-scale industrial application of the Internet of Things, and his representative work includes leading the development of the Haier Smart Home U+ platform and its product innovation awards won at the International CES and IFA Consumer Electronics Show.
He concluded by saying, “Breakthrough hardware and software solutions are increasingly at the heart of meeting the needs of today’s society and responding to challenges such as global climate and energy. We hope to support innovators who are passionate about cutting-edge technologies and their positive impact on society.”
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