The inaugural session of the new Silicon Valley Tech Series kicked off on 9 December 2021 with a webinar discussing current and future trends in the international technological space.
Opening the webinar was Mr Ng Teck Wee, Co-Chairperson of the Intellectual Pursuit & Lifelong Learning Sub-Committee who moderated the luncheon virtual event which was attended by around 100 participants.
The first of three speakers of the day was Ms Lu Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner of Fusion Fund. She is an award-winning and renowned Silicon Valley investor and serial entrepreneur who founded Fusion Fund in 2015. The company focuses on early-stage investment in deep tech and healthcare startups and has over 60 investment portfolios across the US to-date.
Venture Capital is the catalyst for innovation
According to Ms Zhang, the power of venture capital (VC) investment is in its ability to accelerate the growth in innovation. She explained that before VC came about, it may take generations for a company to achieve a billion-dollar valuation, but these days it may only take around 10 years with VC support.
She shared that although VC investments only made up 0.2% of US GDP, they were responsible for generating 21% of US GDP through investments in tech companies. In addition, around 53% of listed companies are backed by VC investors.
Data is the fastest growing asset
Ms Zhang explained that when it comes to digital transformation, innovation is focused on three key areas: data collection; transfer, storage, protection (of data); and data processing. She then gave examples of the types of new and upcoming data-based technology that will accelerate growth within the three areas, such as “artificial skin” flexible electronics and edge computing or 5G.
She added that data is also driving change in the healthcare sector and named some companies which Fusion Fund has invested in such as firms that offer AI and microfluidics, nanorobotics, digitisation, and personalised diagnostics.
Mr Davy Goh, CEO of Passion Venture Capital, then took the floor to present the financial aspects of investing. Mr Goh has extensive knowledge of financial investing and his team at Passion Venture Capital has a wealth of experience and expertise in fund management, banking, corporate advisory and global markets equity research.
The VC space has had the highest returns in the last few years
According to Mr Goh, the VC space showed the highest returns from 2011 to 2016, peaking at 30.4% in 2016. While the growth-expansion space took the lead in 2017, VCs still showed growth of 33.8% that year.
He explained that despite disruptions due to the pandemic, the amount of VC bounced back in the second half of 2020, ending the year with more than USD25 billion raised for VC-backed companies in Asia across 1,398 deals.
Software companies received the most VC backing
Mr Goh shared an industry breakdown where he highlighted that software-type of companies received the most VC funding, followed by biotechnology and pharmaceutical, with consumer goods and services coming in third.
The final panellist, Mr Shane Wall the Partner at Fusion Fund and President of CXO Network went on to discuss emerging trends and how VCs compare to corporations. Mr Wall has decades of corporate experience helping companies with their technical vision and strategies and is currently part of the White House Science and Technology Counsel responsible for advising the president on policies regarding technology.
Trends to keep an eye on
Mr Wall began with an overview of emerging trends they are tracking which include industrial transformation, digital healthcare, energy and sustainability, and the acceleration of space tech. He then went on to explain the impact of each trend in the overall VC space.
Challenges that large corporations face
He also touched on some key challenges large corporations face. These include: capturing and utilising data, digital transformation, rethinking the workforce, the post-COVID reality, and disruption versus scale. He explained that knowing where disruptions lie is crucial to helping investors decide on where to put their money in.
The webinar then moved on to a lively panel discussion where the three speakers shared their thoughts on questions sent in by the virtual participants. The speakers had time to go through about 10 topics which included questions on factors to consider before investing in a company, how VCs can reinvent themselves, and industry-specific questions on healthcare and space tech.
The full webinar is available online on the NUSS YouTube Channel. Click here to watch Part 1 and Part 2.
