SILICON DRAGON NEWS
SiliconDragonventures.com                                       July 3, 2017         
Silicon Dragon 
LA 2017


  July 26

Forum: Pasadena  
Convention Center 
2pm - 6pm

VIP Reception
6-7pm

  Rooftop Party:  
Downtown LA 
7:30 - 9pm


Where VC, VR,
Hollywood, China, Pitches and
Deals Meet 

featuring speakers 
from Disney, Wanda, LeEco, Dick Clark, DMG and more!

Apply To Pitch

SDLA2017

Thanks to 
Our Sponsors

Nixon Peabody
KPMG

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NEXT EVENT

Silicon Dragon
Shanghai 2017

Nanjing Lu

September 14 



Partner Event

July 14

Use code DRAGON50
for 50% discount

 
Silicon Dragon's 
Rebecca Fannin is the VC  moderator


Dinner guests-NYC 2017
Silicon Dragon Dinner with Hudson Club;
NYC, 6-20-2017

Benefits:
guest tickets to VIP events, exclusively for our Silicon Dragon Circle members, a growing universe of
well-connected VIPs in the center of 
Silicon Dragon action.  

 
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Startups Search For Wins In China 

pitches - SDNY 2017
Founders who pitched at Silicon Dragon's NY event, June 26.  

Many venture capitalists today want to see entrepreneurs who have a strategy or vision for getting into the China market. They won't bother seeing them otherwise. 
That makes sense given the scale of the market and its fast advances. But it's not easy. That's why many fail at least on the first try, but keep trying for the competitive edge.
Today, attuned entrepreneurs are still aiming to figure out the Chinese market and jump in before all power positions are taken. 
To go to China as a young founder takes guts, imagination, steely resolve, and a certain knowledge of how the market works, which usually means having a local partner or team on the ground.  Read  Forbes  post:  China strategy  

Silicon Dragon got a good read on up and comers who see their destiny in China, as part of the recent 
Silicon Dragon pitch contest  in New York City.
Founders were competing for a chance to go to the Beijing global finals in mid-August (thanks to the Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Competition) and win up to $200,000 plus startup assistance in setting up and mentoring.
Here's a sampling of east coast startups who pitched, many with business models angling for China:

- an efficient battery maker in Brooklyn for electric vehicles
- a biotech startup for monitoring of congestive heart failure problems
- a VR platform for artists to create and share music
- a mobile app for kids to learn Mandarin
- a GPS system relying on artificial intelligence and augmented reality
 It is tough to select winners from so many good candidates who applied to pitch but our judges -- Brian Cohen of New York Angels and Jim Robinson of RRE Ventures -- picked two: 

WINNERS
Winners - SDNY 17
Alexandra Iosso, Dagmy Motors (battery maker for electric vehicles)
Herb Ryan, Bitome (biotech startup)

We'll share their profiles and videos in next week's issue of Silicon Dragon News.  

SDNY17 pitches 2
 More f ounders who pitched at Silicon Dragon's NY event, June 26.

See More 

See More NY Event Photos

DEALS & FUNDS
Tencent has invested $100 million to $150 million in Indonesian ride-hailing startup Go-Jek  -- another signal that the Southeast Asian market is hot.  

Baidu has acquired natural language startup Kitt.ai in Seattle to continue its push into artificial intelligence. 

Singapore-based digital payments startup Instarem has raised $13 million in a Series B round led by GSR Ventures.  

Publishing and education firm Pearson is selling once high-flying Indian online tutoring startup TutorVista to edtech startup Byju.   

NOTEWORTHY
Chinese celebrities get their shot at global celebrity, as livestream goes viral (with a quote from Silicon Dragon).
Bloomberg  

Can China and the Internet save American business?  
The giant e-commerce platform Alibaba and its charismatic founder, Jack Ma, have a plan to add 1 million U.S. jobs by enticing American companies to sell to China. 
Technology Review

Beijing debt alarm puts spotlight on Fosun, Wanda deals in India. Livemint

Souls of China, a new book noting the return of religion after Mao, is highlighted in a review by the New Yorker