The New Tech Triangle: China, US, Israel

I remember all too well when my first book, Silicon Dragon, was released. It was ahead of its time in predicting that China would get ahead in tech innovation and rival the U.S. for leadership. That was a message that Silicon Valley wished would just go away.

But it didn’t, and today, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, DJI, Letv and others are here to prove their domination not only in China but increasingly the world. I went on to write a second book, Startup Asia, that forecast that the wave of innovation from China would hit India next. That was also premature, and hasn’t quite realized its potential yet.

Today, we are at the forefront of another major trend that is shaking the venture world. I am talking about the intersection of China with Israel and the U.S. for tech innovation. This is the new tech triangle. It hasn’t really been discovered yet by the mainstream but this time I think my timing is right.

Increasingly, I am seeing that startups and venture funds that leverage the China-Israel-US links are getting ahead. It is not just for market expansion but also for research and development, technology breakthroughs and funding. This trend spans many sectors from biotech to security to digital media.

It’s not widely known but several Israeli venture funds have attracted capital from China. You can check out my “Recent Linkups” post at Forbes and our forum, Silicon Dragon Tel Aviv if you want more info on this trend.

It’s also not that well known that Chinese companies are acquiring and partnering with Israeli tech startups. Ironsource is a good example, with its close ties with Tencent. Of course, the acquisition path by China into the U.S. is already well traveled and is increasingly at the forefront, as Chinese companies get into Hollywood and tech.

It makes sense that China is increasingly connected to the world’s leading venture and tech hubs, U.S. and Israel. There is cultural alignment too as my earlier Forbes post pointed out.

A panel of experts from Israel, China and the U.S. will explore this tech triangle trend at Silicon Dragon NY 2016 at Nasdaq, June 23.