As a tech reporter, I’ve experienced the pleasure of having open conversations with leaders from known investors and entrepreneurial companies over the last few years. During this period, the dominant narrative emphasized their persistent commitment to investment in the Internet and allied areas.
The matter has undergone a curious change in recent months. My deep conversations with these sector experts revealed a significant and widespread shift toward new and exciting prospects in complex technologies and basic research and development (R&D).
Hard Tech: A Multifaceted World
For those who are unfamiliar with the language, rugged tech, often known as deep tech, refers to a wide range of subjects. Optoelectronic chips, artificial intelligence, aircraft, biological technology, information technology, innovative components, developing energy technologies, and the rapidly evolving world of intelligent production are all examples of technology.
The phrase “hard tech” was established expressly to refer to fields that rely heavily on expert scientific knowledge, long-term and continuous research and development efforts, and maintained considerable funding.
Reforming the Future: Hard Tech as the Frontline of Innovation
This fascinating movement towards these complicated and technically challenging regions is currently catching the interest and investment thrills of business executives. This evolution, as my talks have shown, is set to make a lasting impression on the field of technological progress. Also leading to an exciting period of opportunities and achievements.
Huawei’s R&D Investment Supremacy
All-China Union of Industries and Commerce Yearly Rankings
The most recent yearly rankings are provided by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, a nationally prominent entity committed to promoting entrepreneurs. They highlighted Huawei Technologies’ incredible R&D spending expertise. Notably, Huawei achieved the number one spot on the list in 2022, indicating an outstanding dedication to technological innovation with an investment that topped 160 billion yuan, or $21.87 billion.
A Decade of R&D Efforts
Huawei’s commitment to invention is further illustrated by its combined R&D expenditure of 977 billion yuan over the last decade. This enormous capital investment has enabled Huawei to take up a revolution in developing future and potential core innovations, highlighting the company’s critical worth in the hard tech world.
The Changing Environment: The Contribution of Technology in China’s Economy
The Emerging Internet Industry’s Decade-Long Dominance
Over the previous decade, the emerging internet industry has been the primary motivation behind China’s developing core marketplace. This time saw a record-breaking increase in digitalization, which altered many elements of business and community.
Imagining the Future Decade: A Technical Growth Pathway
As China thinks in advance, business professionals such as Rachel Mei, a partner at Taihecap, a famous Chinese investment firm, believe that technological advancement will take the lead in accelerating growth in the future decade.
The fast growth of technology, as well as the prominence of prospective fundamental advances spanning the spectrum of hard tech, are set to determine China’s economic and technical trajectory in the future.
This move signifies a dramatic shift in emphasis toward innovation and technological advancement, laying the groundwork for what promises to be a historic decade.
Improving Investing Patterns: A Transition between Tertiary to Secondary Industry and Model to Tech Development
In recent years, there has been a visible shift in the investment landscape, with capital shifting from the tertiary to the secondary industries and from a concentration on model innovation to a greater emphasis on technology innovation.
National Monetary Priorities: Highlighting Core Technologies
The proposed plan for national economic and social growth for the year 2022 outlined a defined strategic orientation. It emphasized the crucial need for accelerating discoveries in essential fields such as biomedicine, high-end instrumentation, green and low-carbon energy transformation, and fundamental programming.
Particularly, Mi Lei, a founding partner at Casstar, a high-tech investment staunch based in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China and supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has stated that the ongoing worldwide financial crisis and increased worldwide technology competition are set to boost this current trend.
The Importance of Hard Technology in Invention
Mi Lei emphasizes the critical importance of hard technology, which is distinguished by high technological hurdles that make duplication and copying difficult. Mi believes that hard tech will be the motivation behind the country’s next generation of technical advances.
Casstar has demonstrated an eagerness to provide funding for fields that have yet to historically receive broad funding from investors as part of its solid dedication to hard tech investment. It comprises LED chip initiatives intended for the exact production of tiny atomic layers onto semiconductor wafers.
The Critical Role: Hard Tech Pioneering Leadership
Mi Lei, Casstar’s founding partner, emphasizes the value of cultivating more firms at the forefront of complex technology, particularly those who are capable of obtaining top worldwide ranking in their respective sectors. He underlines that in today’s economic context, science and technology are the key drivers of advancement. With hard technology preparing to take on the title of growth accelerator over the next thirty years.
