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Chinese 'Accelerators' In Silicon Valley Aim To Bring Startups Home (reuters.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the home-away-from-home dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Beijing's unslakeable thirst for the latest technology has spurred a proliferation of "accelerators" in Silicon Valley that aim to identify promising startups and bring them to China. The surge in the number of China-focused accelerators -- which support, mentor and invest in early-stage startups -- is part of a larger wave of Chinese investment in Silicon Valley. At least 11 such programs have been created in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2013, according to the tech-sector data firm Crunchbase. Some work directly with Chinese governments, which provide funding. Reuters interviews with the incubators showed that many were focused on bringing U.S. startups to China. For U.S. government officials wary of China's growing high-tech clout, the accelerator boom reaffirms fears that U.S. technological know-how is being transferred to China through investments, joint ventures or licensing agreements. "Our intellectual property is the future of our economy and our security," Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement to Reuters about Chinese accelerators. "China's government has clearly prioritized acquiring as much of that intellectual property as possible. Their ongoing efforts, legal or illegal, pose a risk that we have to look at very seriously."

31 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If you don't like their LEGAL efforts, then,being a Congresscritter, you can work to change the relevant LAWS.

    Now, if they're doing illegal things, then you don't need to change the relevant laws, just enforce them. Equally. For everyone. Don't do this silly crap of "enforce the letter of the law if they're Chinese, but ignore the law if they're British/French/German (read: white guys like us).

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    1. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by quantaman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you don't like their LEGAL efforts, then,being a Congresscritter, you can work to change the relevant LAWS.

      Now, if they're doing illegal things, then you don't need to change the relevant laws, just enforce them. Equally. For everyone. Don't do this silly crap of "enforce the letter of the law if they're Chinese, but ignore the law if they're British/French/German (read: white guys like us).

      Or, being a responsible legislator, he could say "Hey, we've identified a potentially serious threat. We need to study it so we can take appropriate action."

      Politicians don't have a magic box that gives them perfect unbiased information, they (and their staffs) need to do research and check sources just like everyone else. The right answer might even be "don't change anything but keep monitoring".

      --
      I stole this Sig
    2. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by WindBourne · · Score: 4, Insightful

      First off, you are not European and I doubt that you are Caucasian.
      Secondly, there is a HUGE difference in intentions. Europeans that are grabbing knowledge and companies in America are not about to bomb America with it. In addition, it is NOT 1-way only. We are allowed to buy land, companies, etc in over in Europe. OTOH, Your nation, china, blocks the west from doing the same thing.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    3. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by whizzter · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's not about "whiteness" when it comes to China, it's about a level playing field. Companies in China must be majority owned by Chinese persons or companies so even if car companies,etc has precence in China their local subsidiaries are in some fashion China owned and thus exposed to the possibility of technology theft.

      For example read up on how China became the Nr #1 country in high speed trains and the bitter taste it left for companies that tried to invest in subsidiaries there to have their tech stolen and now used agains't them aborad.

      http://fortune.com/2013/04/15/did-china-steal-japans-high-speed-train/

      http://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2107096/china-says-its-bullet-train-technology-was-stolen-days-after-us

    4. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      just enforce them. Equally. For everyone

      If you can get better results by selectively enforcing the laws, then why not ? Simpler than having the laws changed.

    5. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      For example read up on how China became the Nr #1 country in high speed trains and the bitter taste it left for companies that tried to invest in subsidiaries there to have their tech stolen and now used agains't them aborad.

      This is what greed looks like. China has done this kind of thing constantly, they have whole facilities which do nothing but study other people's chips for the purpose of knocking off their technology wholesale. Sure, I expect Intel and AMD to de-lid each other's CPUs to see how they did things, but the Chinese are doing it regularly for the purpose of making direct counterfeits. This is basically true in every industry in which they are involved, but foreign companies keep lining up to hand them their IP because they've got Yuan signs in their eyes. But it ends up basically the same every time.

      It makes no sense to sell your best technology to the Chinese, given what they will do with it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re: Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The real risk when dealing with companies in Western nations like Germany, France, the UK, Canada and Australia is that they have broken immigration systems that let in far too many people who outright refuse to integrate in any meaningful way. When a business in the US deals with businesses in such nations, there's a very good chance they're dealing with a foreign national who holds no allegiance to the Western nation they're taking advantage of. In some cases these people are outright hostile to their new host nation. Western Europe, Canada and Australia are quickly becoming a mix of Asia and the Middle East, rather than anything like they've traditionally been.

    7. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      If you can get better results by selectively enforcing the laws, then why not ?

      We have a word for selective enforcement: Corruption. You pay a bribe, and we let you slide.

      Simpler than having the laws changed.

      More profitable too.

    8. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      We have a word for selective enforcement: Corruption. You pay a bribe, and we let you slide.

      That's just one particular example of of selective enforcement, probably not relevant here.

    9. Re: Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

      When a business in the US deals with businesses in such nations, there's a very good chance they're dealing with a foreign national who holds no allegiance to the Western nation they're taking advantage of

      As a European, with some very serious doubts about the current level of immigration, the failure of many immigrants to integrate properly (for whatever reason that may be), and what the long term effects on our society will be, I still have to ask: where did you get this ridiculous notion?

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    10. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Good artists imitate, great artists improve upon.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    11. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not sure where you got your information from.

      Companies in China do not need to be majority owned by Chinese persons or companies, except in very specific fields. The going trend is reducing the specific fields as well. You should try reading about WOFEs when you get the chance.

      BTW China would be happy if the US would allow them to create JVs in the US, rather than not allowing any sort of investment in a large amount of fields.

    12. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Can you blame them though? They were not happy about the US buying up half their country they have done in other places, and didn't want to become another US subsidiary.

      This is the problem with protectionism. It ends up screwing everyone more than cooperating.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    13. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by CaffeinatedBacon · · Score: 1

      You are right, they don't have a magic box, they have several. Whoever 'donates' enough money to fill up their box first, gets to write the laws they want.

    14. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by CaffeinatedBacon · · Score: 1
      What the fuck are you talking about? You can set up Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise in China.

      A Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE, sometimes incorrectly WOFE) is a common investment vehicle for mainland China-based business wherein foreign parties (individuals or corporate entities) can incorporate a foreign-owned limited liability company.[1] The unique feature of a WFOE is that involvement of a mainland Chinese investor is not required, unlike most other investment vehicles (most notably, a sino-foreign joint venture).

    15. Re:Their LEGAL ongoing efforts? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Picasso/SteveJobs:

      Sounds like an AI that designs spectacularly reliable computers with trapezoidal screens and all the ports on the wrong sides.

      "good artists copy, great artists steal"

      They're not artists at anything but copying. They're not artists, they're understudies. Except they're not studying how to do it in the first place, just how to copy it. It's not a bad strategy, it's quite canny in fact. But it's still a limiting strategy. The whole "nail that sticks up gets hammered down" thing is turning America into a turd as we speak.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. smart on china's part by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    many of us have been saying that CHina is about destroying the west. So far, they have been getting big in academia, bringing in others from their nations, and then sending them home. Just as Manufacturing was taken from America, china will take R*D from here. And again, I will say that CONgress, esp the GOP but dems are complicit as well, along with MBAs in our businesses, are the main cause of this.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:smart on china's part by HiThere · · Score: 3, Informative

      The effect may be destroying the west, but that isn't the goal. The goal is building up China. The ways they are doing it are little different than those used by the US during the late 1700's and early 1800's.

      The thing that's destroying the west isn't China building up, but the US decaying, letting it's infrastructure collapse, and dismantling its industrial capabilities.

      Now if you were to claim that China is trying to become more powerful than the West, I'd agree. That's a real truth.

      Note that this is in clear distinction to certain religious fanatics who actually *are* trying to destroy the US. (And they aren't all of any one particular faith.)

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  3. Re: The Chinese are not your friend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Pre Communist Chinese Americans and the more recent arrivals... Big difference.

    My family came during the gold rush transcontinental railroad times... That China doesn't exist anymore and doesn't inspire any loyalty (other than food)

  4. Re:Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    why should we NOT allow foreigners to own land? There is no reason why not. And yes, that includes the Chinese. That is not a problem.

    There are plenty of other issues that we need to address.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  5. Re: Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    controlled? Yes.
    BUT, that is not the case.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  6. Not a problem, we can copy the successful ones by drnb · · Score: 1

    Not a problem. If a particular "chinese" startup demonstrates success, is gaining traction, etc then someone in the US could always create a copycat product.

  7. Re:Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    why should we NOT allow foreigners to own land? There is no reason why not. And yes, that includes the Chinese. That is not a problem.

    Reciprocity. Long before Trump was running for president, or Obama for that matter, it seemed dumb to me that the situation with China was so lopsided. They should have to partner with US companies to do business here, they shouldn't be allowed to own land here, etc., until they change those policies for their own nation. China's global success is in part due to those restrictions, and letting them stand without opposition only motivates them to keep them.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Re: Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

    Are you afraid that if the foreigners get mad at us, they will pack up the land and take it home?

    In most countries, there are no restrictions on foreigners owning land. Can you point a an example of this ever resulting in a "loss of sovereignty"?

  9. Re:Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by aix+tom · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Well, isn't the entire US *Build* on the idea of "foreigners grabbing the land of the natives"? ;-P

  10. Re: Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Uh, yeah.

    Texas is a pretty famous one.

    Texas was very sparsely populated, with fewer than 3,500 residents,[Note 3] and only about 200 soldiers,[12][13] which made it extremely vulnerable to attacks by native tribes and American filibusters.[14] In the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the Indian raids, the bankrupt Mexican government liberalized immigration policies for the region. Finally able to settle legally in Texas, Anglos from the United States soon vastly outnumbered the Tejanos.[Note 4][15][16] Most of the immigrants came from the southern United States. Many were slave owners, and most brought with them significant prejudices against other races, attitudes often applied to the Tejanos. Mexico's official religion was Roman Catholicism, yet the majority of the immigrants were Protestants who distrusted Catholics.[17]
    A map of Mexico, showing state and territory divisions as of 1835. Texas, Coahila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and the Yucatán are shaded, marking them as having separatist movements.
    A map of Mexico, 1835–1846, showing administrative divisions. The red areas show regions where separatist movements were active.

    Mexican authorities became increasingly concerned about the stability of the region.[7] The colonies teetered at the brink of revolt in 1829, after Mexico abolished slavery.[18] In response, President Anastasio Bustamante implemented the Laws of April 6, 1830, which, among other things, prohibited further immigration to Texas from the United States, increased taxes, and reiterated the ban on slavery.[19] Settlers simply circumvented or ignored the laws. By 1834, an estimated 30,000 Anglos lived in Coahuila y Tejas,[20] compared to only 7,800 Mexican-born residents.[21] By the end of 1835, almost 5,000 enslaved Africans and African Americans lived in Texas, making up 13 percent of the non-Indian population.[22]

    In 1832, Antonio López de Santa Anna led a revolt to overthrow Bustamante.[23][24] Texians, or English-speaking settlers, used the rebellion as an excuse to take up arms. By mid-August, all Mexican troops had been expelled from east Texas.[25] Buoyed by their success, Texians held two political conventions to persuade Mexican authorities to weaken the Laws of April 6, 1830.[26] In November 1833, the Mexican government attempted to address some of the concerns, repealing some sections of the law and granting the colonists further concessions,[27] including increased representation in the state legislature.[28] Stephen F. Austin, who had brought the first American settlers to Texas, wrote to a friend that "Every evil complained of has been remedied."[29] Mexican authorities were quietly watchful, concerned that the colonists were maneuvering towards secession.[30][31]

    And we know how that went.

    Um, I guess ALL OF AMERICA too.

    The colony of New Amsterdam was centered at the site which would eventually become Lower Manhattan. In 1626, the Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit, acting as charged by the Dutch West India Company, purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie, a small Lenape band,[94] for 60 guilders[95] (about $1,000 in 2006).

    I guess you can ask the Indians in their ghettos, um I mean reservations, how that went.

    Are people really this ignorant?

    And China is doing the same with its neighbors slowly. Vancouver too.

  11. From a technologys standpoint by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    American is having to rely heavily on foreign scientists immigrating here. This is going to accelerate because, well, we slashed funding to schools in the 90s and kept at it through the 2000s. Schools don't have enough space for the qualified applicants. After all, why pay for your own schools if you can get other countries to do it for you?

    Trouble is those immigrant scientists don't have a lot of attachment to the country. Now, if you're a wealthy billionaire nationalism is kind of pointless. You're investments are global and so are you. But if you're a working class stiff you're lucky if the fees from your 401k don't make your contributions a wash. You're very much local.

    What I'm saying is, we need to invest more in home grown talent that'll be loyal to the community and want to see it prosper. And by 'we' I mean those of us who live off our work instead of live off our investments.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  12. Jìng-Yáng! by Going_Digital · · Score: 1

    Jìng-Yáng has finally taken over from Eric Buckman.

  13. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  14. New Pied Piper by hackel · · Score: 1

    Chinese company ideas:
    New Snapchat
    New Facebook
    New Zillow
    New Expedia

    New Reddit
    New Grubhub
    New Spotify
    New Kickstarter
    New Pied Piper

  15. Re:Why are FOREIGNERS allowed to own US land? by CaffeinatedBacon · · Score: 1

    Because it pushes up the prices and makes it too expensive for locals to buy.

    Then there are security implications. Do you really want Chinese/Russian interests buying up land outside all your important ports and military bases?

    Why not sell all your farms to China, what could go wrong?