One other prime Silicon Valley investor is splitting off its China enterprise as stress mounts

By Michelle Toh | CNN

Hong Kong  — GGV Capital, a distinguished Silicon Valley enterprise capital agency, has turn out to be the newest massive investor to interrupt up its US and China operations into separate corporations as tensions between the 2 nations over tech and geopolitics proceed to rise.

The agency introduced Thursday that it could divide its enterprise into two “fully unbiased” companies with separate new manufacturers, which haven’t been revealed.

Based on the corporate, one aspect will focus on North America, Latin America, Europe, Israel and cross-border US-India offers, led by groups in California and New York by managing companions Glenn Solomon, Hans Tung, Jeff Richards and Oren Yunger.

The opposite aspect will give attention to China, Southeast Asia and South Asia, run from its headquarters in Singapore, by managing companions Jenny Lee and Jixun Foo.

GGV’s present Chinese language yuan-denominated funds “will proceed to be managed independently” beneath its Chinese language model, Jiyuan Capital, it mentioned.

In a press release, the agency attributed the choice to the truth that “over the past decade, the funding panorama has shifted considerably, and the working setting has turn out to be extremely complicated.”

“In opposition to these new realities, GGV can also be evolving,” it added, with out elaborating additional.

The transition is predicted to be accomplished by the tip of the primary quarter of subsequent 12 months.

GGV Capital has roughly $9.2 billion in belongings beneath administration. The agency is thought for backing tech corporations around the globe, reminiscent of Alibaba (BABA), Airbnb (ABNB), Slack, TikTok proprietor ByteDance and Chinese language ride-hailing supplier Didi.

The transfer comes as US-China tensions proceed to have an effect on how companies function internationally’s prime two economies.

Final month, the Biden administration introduced it could limit investments by US enterprise capital and personal fairness companies, in addition to joint ventures, in Chinese language synthetic intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors.

The chief order will exacerbate a hunch in offers between the USA and China, and ship a “main blow” to Chinese language startups, analysts and traders beforehand instructed CNN.

Requested whether or not the US order or wider geopolitical tensions had factored into its resolution, GGV Capital declined to remark.

The agency has not too long ago come beneath higher scrutiny from US lawmakers.

In July, a US Home committee mentioned it had despatched letters to 4 funding companies, together with GGV, “expressing critical concern and demanding details about the companies’ investments” in synthetic intelligence, chips and quantum computing corporations in China.

One funding named was a GGV cope with Megvii, an AI developer. The corporate is finest recognized for its facial recognition software program, and has lengthy been accused of human rights violations in opposition to Uyghurs and different members of Muslim minority teams in China’s Xinjiang area.

Megvii was added to a US commerce blacklist in 2019 over the problem and beforehand instructed CNN that there have been “no grounds” for that call.

The continuing stress has already led different companies to separate their US and Chinese language companies this 12 months.