VC firms feel the chill of sluggish market, but remain warm about future

Potential fields - Consumption upgrade, frontier technologies, corporate services

The other two engines Deng mentioned were consumption upgrade and technology innovation.

The focus on comsumption was echoed by Sheng Xitai, co-founder of Angel Plus. "Consumption upgrade is the biggest wave over the past seven or eight years," Sheng said.

On frontier technologies, Deng said, "For the past few years, the opportunities for business success have become scarce in the innovation of business modes. But the chances in technology innovation are bigger."

Read more: Frontier technologies, the next big leap forward

Deng mentioned two aspects in technology: the IT revolution such as machine learning, artificial intelligence; the development of life science that will produce new potentials in precision medicine (personalized medicine) and biopharmaceutics.

"I believe that the biomedicine will be a big opportunity in the healthcare field for venture capital in the future."

Yan is also a keen supporter of technology innovation. He said it will bring some new opportunities, such as battery tech that could increase stand-by time, healthcare and gene tech, AR/VR, and internet of things.

Richard Liu, partner of Morningside Venture Capital, one of China's earliest early-stage venture investors, said he was betting on technology innovation that combines artificial intelligence with internet of things.

Liu said opportunities in the future also lie in services that could enhance corporate efficiency.

The enthusiasm for corporate service is especially obvious for Wang Donghui, the co-founder of Ameba Capital, who said they would allocate 40 percent of the second fund under their management totaling 700 million yuan ($105 million) to invest in the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry, which could help enterprises improve their efficiency.

Read more: From finding unicorns to supporting pig-raising software