Soon after India announced it was banning 59 popular Chinese mobile phone apps, a local venture capitalist noticed a sharp rise in traffic to a number of Indian alternatives he had backed. “I never before realised the extent to which big tech stifles innovation and young start-ups,” he said.
This was not a criticism of China in particular — businesses like Beijing-based ByteDance, with its ability to personalise content and its $100bn plus valuation, are emblematic of the power of big tech the world over.
Nor was it a rant against foreign versus local companies, or a plea for protectionism. Instead, this Delhi-based investor is concerned about the fact that increasingly “the game is rigged. And that changes the future trajectory of an economy”.