China’s Startups Hope Tech Crackdown Creates New Opportunities

The Chinese government’s crackdown on the country’s largest technology companies has raised fears that the industry could be paralyzed or cast into disarray as the economy enters a delicate moment. But there’s one contingent within the tech sector privately cheering on a broad set of anti-monopoly edicts: startups and their investors.

“The introduction of antitrust rules will indeed create more space for startups to grow,” says Zhou Xiang, a managing director at China Renaissance Group who oversees its early-stage investments. “Previously we had witnessed venture capitalists dropping a deal just because of concerns that the tech giants may one day step into the same area in which the startup operates. The antitrust law has eased such concerns moving forward.”