China may be a competitive market, but its huge market and vibrant tech ecosystem still abound with opportunities for Singapore tech startups.
Companies can look at China in 2 ways:
- As an end market (due to its sheer size); or
- As a partner for tech sourcing or internationalisation.
Given the intense competition there, companies who are even thinking of going in need to be clear of their unique value proposition, what they are using the market for, understand local needs, and find a strong partner to scale up quickly there.
Where do I go?
As a start, consider the 4 more mature and advanced cities in the tech ecosystem: Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Shenzhen.
City |
Strong In |
Strength of ecosystem |
What you need to know
|
VCs |
Beijing |
AI and Deep tech
|
Largest startup ecosystem in Asia and 3rd in the world, with over 7,000 startups |
|
Beijing contributes 7 of top 10 venture funding deals in Asia, totalling over S$7.1 billion |
Shanghai |
Medtech/Fintech/Broad Base Consumer Services
|
Ranked 8th worldwide in the 2017 Startup Ecosystem report |
|
Large number of VCs supporting medtech and fintech startups |
Suzhou |
Nanotech/Biomedical |
Conducive startup environment for in the Suzhou Industrial Park, due to presence of NUSRI and BLOCK71 Suzhou |
|
SIP partners a large number of venture capital companies and risk investors to provide support for startups |
Shenzhen |
Hardware innovation
|
Home to reputed hardware startup accelerators, ARM,HAXand Seeed Studio |
|
More VC funding in Shenzhen than the US, especially for hardware |
Back: What Singapore Tech Startups need to know when going to China.