Joe Chen, CEO of Chinese social networking service
Renren, first met
SoFi CEO Mike Cagney in Palo Alto in 2011 and, over coffee, decided to invest in the fast-growth, disruptive online finance start-up. That initial $4 million investment helped SoFi get its start and led to two more financings within three years, with Renren contributing a major chunk of some $230 million raised.
Fast-forward, and SoFi last month topped it off with a $500 million investment from private-equity powerhouse Silver Lake.
SoFi is just the kind of deal that Chen has been pursuing: His NYSE-listed company, once known as the Facebook of China, has been investing in fast-growth tech start-ups to broaden its revenues and boost its stock price. That connection with Renren has also lifted SoFi.
SoFi is just the kind of deal that Chen has been pursuing: His NYSE-listed company, once known as the Facebook of China, has been investing in fast-growth tech start-ups to broaden its revenues and boost its stock price. That connection with Renren has also lifted SoFi.
Similarly to Renren, China's tech titans
Baidu,
Alibaba and
Tencent are leading a surge of Chinese investment in cutting-edge U.S. technology start-ups with bold ambitions to expand their footprint, attract top talent and gain an edge in innovation.
Collectively known as the BAT, China's giant technology companies that dominate search, e-commerce and mobile messaging in their home market are going global. The United States is their primary shopping place to diversify and build out their brands.
Read CNBC article, BAT, by Rebeca Fannin.
Read CNBC article, BAT, by Rebeca Fannin.
WHERE JACK MA AND ELON MUSK THRIVE
China, the U.S., Shanghai, New York, Tokyo, London, Google, Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Jack Ma
all score high in KPMG's annual technology innovation survey of
800+ tech industry execs globally and related KPMG
thought leadership report.
(Silicon Dragon's Rebecca Fannin contributes editorial content)