“The timing of such technology breakthroughs has not much to do with the ups and downs of the economy. It requires completely different skillsets to predict an emerging tech trend — which is exactly the critical part of our jobs.”

Biography:

Neil Shen is the renowned investor behind Sequoia China, which he founded in 2005. The firm’s parent company, Sequoia Capital, is one of the biggest Silicon Valley venture capital firms. Shen is the managing partner of the Chinese arm of the firm and is responsible for seeking out promising business endeavors. 

Via Sequoia China, Shen has invested in over 600 companies, including many Chinese powerhouses. About 60 of these have since become unicorns. Before joining Sequoia China, Shen co-founded two successful companies: Trip.com, China’s most popular travel site, and Home Inns, China’s biggest budget hotel chain.

Shen also has significant experience as an investment banker, having worked at Deutsche Bank Hong Kong, Citibank, Lehman Brothers and Chemical Bank. He is currently the director of several companies, including the Chinese mega shopping platform Meituan and Chinese tourism company BTG Hotels, and is a wealth management service provider at online agricultural marketplace Pinduoduo and wealth management organization Noah Holdings. 

Shen is also a philanthropist and sustainability advocate, with his latest efforts directed toward urging Beijing’s leaders to invest in green technology solutions to become carbon neutral by 2060. Shen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and a Master of Arts degree from Yale University.

Shen’s 2022:

Shen ranked third in Forbes’ Midas List 2022 because of successful investments in Meituan, Pinduoduo and TikTok parent company, ByteDance. This is the fifth year that Shen has been in the Midas List’s top three. His current focus is on emerging investment themes related to China’s economy. Among these include initiatives relating to carbon neutrality, biotechnology and robotics.

Shen shocked the investment community in 2022 with Sequoia China’s record-breaking $9 billion crypto fund, raised to focus on Chinese tech startups. This was the largest fund yet to be raised by a single firm.

Despite Beijing’s crackdown on big tech in China, Shen remains committed to urging the Chinese capital’s leadership to build digital infrastructure and invest in tech to help combat climate change. Shen forwarded his proposal regarding this in March 2022 at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, where he was the only venture capitalist.

Shen’s 2023:

Shen’s success in raising billions of crypto funds (while his peers in the tech industry struggled to stay afloat) is likely due to his ability to ride China’s political currents. Amid heightened political risk, Shen has managed to align his efforts with President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” policy goals. Shen has mentioned that moving forward, his investment plans will align more with China’s political trajectories. This is no small feat, but Shen has proven to be a formidable investor by building a fortune in tech despite China’s evolving restrictions. 

In 2023, Shen is expected to focus on more “progressive” sectors, which include deep tech (robotics and AI) and hard tech (semiconductors and electric vehicles). Shen is likely to continue nurturing close political relationships as he navigates the tightrope that is China’s relationship with Big Tech and crypto.