Investors optimistic on future tech trends

Investors say they remain optimistic, as tech breakthroughs and entrepreneurship will help open up new markets, despite a slowdown in fundraising and "capital winter" in China.

"There must be a cycle in economy. Historically, investment and entrepreneurship would see their best chances among some big challenges," said Kaifu Lee, founder and CEO of the tech venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures. "Only those who have ideas, passion and ability will start a business."

His words came amid a slowdown in fundraising for venture capital and private equity firms this year in China. In the first 11 months, total fundraising was 1.15 trillion yuan ($167 billion), down 28.7 percent year-on-year, according to the latest report by Zero2IPO Research, a leading venture capital and private equity research institution.

Despite the fall, Lee said he remained upbeat, and that the firm's fourth round of US dollar-denominated fund and third round of RMB-denominated fund had already invested in nearly 20 projects in the past year.

"We are very optimistic about the future. Venture capital will show its advantages during such a winter, especially in how it can use technologies to enable traditional industries in the current technology-driven era," he said.

Lee made the comments during the opening day of Sinovation Ventures, where its top executives shared their views about potential investment trends in China next year.

The Chinese economy, unlike any other economies in the world, is diversified, epitomized by the top-tier cities encountering some challenges, while second- and third-tier cities gain growth momentum, said Wang Hua, managing partner of Sinovation Ventures.

For instance, he noted, mobile payments have already been popularized for more than three years in top-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, while in fourth- and fifth-tier cities, many older people are only just beginning to adopt it and shop online.

"It is part of the reason why Chinese online group discounter Pinduoduo can still gain popularity, even though Alibaba's Taobao and JD were launched quite a long time ago," Wang said.

"It is like a magic cube. Different phases will bring different chances. Epoch-making opportunities will continue to burst out in the Chinese market."

Artificial intelligence automation, consumption upgrades in smaller cities, as well as the overseas market will be the next investment hotbeds, he predicted.

Wang noted that artificial intelligence, on the other side, has moved from technology to application in the country where all kinds of industries are accelerating the application of AI.