[photopress:It_digital_signage.jpg,full,alignright]Only five Chinese information-technology companies raised cash from VCs in this year’s first quarter, the lowest number since 2002, according to research firm Dow Jones VentureSource.
IT companies in China — which VentureSource defines to include software, semiconductor, networking and consumer-electronics companies, among others — got only $44 million from venture investors, down 72% from the $159 million in last year’s first quarter.
It is almost a fashion statement. It looks like VCs in China — including many from U.S.-based firms – are obsessed with some of the newer trends such as online advertising. They are no longer that interested in enterprise software even though it has started to make a comeback in U.S. investing circles.
VentureSource said China’s ‘consumer-business services’ sector, including many media companies, took up nearly $438 million of the $719 million total raised by Chinese start-ups in the first quarter.
Some of those are media firms which operate offline in the world of digital signage.
One outdoor ad company, Beijing’s Skyflying Media, managed to get $83 million in later-stage financing. Digital signage, although likely to run into regulatory hurdles because of its distraction level for motorists, is widely considered the hot new area in which to put your money.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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