One of Germany’s biggest venture capital funds plans to invest $700mn in Chinese start-ups, bucking widespread gloom among western investors about the country’s tech scene.Carsten Coesfeld, chief executive of Bertelsmann Investments, said he had been struck on a visit to China by its “very impressive” entrepreneurial talent.
Along with co-investors including large financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds, the company will back tech groups in China and start-ups founded by Chinese entrepreneurs abroad over the next three to five years.
Coesfeld said there was “sometimes a bit of a disconnect” between the western media portrayal of China’s struggle to return to growth since the pandemic and reality.