Opinion | As geopolitics hits venture capital, Asia must start funding its own tech

For all its technical firepower, Asia remains undercapitalised. With funds no longer flowing freely, it needs a financial system that serves its purpose

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The gong ceremony marks the start of trading in Hong Kong for Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), at the HKEX Connect Hall in Central on May 20. Photo: Sun Yeung

Published: 4:30pm, 4 Jun 2025

In just two months, we’ve had news that US venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly launching a US$20 billion megafund to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) completed a US$5.2 billion initial public offering (IPO) – the world’s largest this year and a major boost to Hong Kong’s subdued markets.

But behind these headlines, venture funding across Asia fell to just US$65.8 billion last year, its lowest since 2014.

For context, OpenAI alone raised $40 billion in its latest funding round, illustrating America’s ability to mobilise vast capital around frontier companies aligned with national ambition. Innovation remains global but capital no longer flows freely or evenly.

Venture capital, once global and market-driven, is now a tool of industrial strategy, moving to the cadence of geopolitics. Flows are now hemmed in by ideology, security reviews and digital red lines. Asia is now a capital battleground.

The United States no longer simply invests in technology – it curates it, fences it and favours its own. Since 2023, Washington has accelerated its programme to restrict outbound investment in Chinese AI, quantum computing and chip ventures. In Texas, state agencies have been ordered to divest from China.

Recently, the Trump administration scrapped the Biden-era AI diffusion rule to extend chip export restrictions to countries beyond China. The reversal signals not necessarily a softening, but a shift towards bilateral negotiation. The churn reflects a deeper truth: capital now moves in lockstep with national agendas, not market logic.

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