The SPRIE conference on "China 2.0: Transforming Media and Commerce" was held at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, in the heart of Silicon Valley, on Friday, September 30, 2011. The conference focused on the driving forces and global implications of the rapid growth of China's internet industry.

China is home to nearly half a billion internet users, twice the online population in the US. Already home to two of the world’s top five internet firms by market valuation, China is giving birth to innovative start-ups and powerhouse billion dollar firms in social networking, games, media, and e-commerce. These companies thriving in China are increasingly impacting the global digital economy. Fueling the rise of China’s internet firms are venture capitalists who are leading new investment models and strategies which are shaping the VC industry and the most dynamic—and profitable—internet sectors in China.

Featured speakers included internet pioneers, trailblazer investors across the Pacific, and young entrepreneurs who are shaping the rise of China 2.0.

Keynotes

Jack Ma - Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, delivered the closing keynote address. Alibaba Group includes online marketplace Alibaba ($4.8 billion market cap,ticker 1688:HK), retail and payment platforms (Taobao, Alipay), cloud computing services, China Yahoo, etc. In 2009, Jack Ma was recognized as one of the "TIME 100: The World's Most Influential People" by TIME, one of "China's Most Powerful People" by BusinessWeek and one of the "Top 10 Most Respected Entrepreneurs in China" by Forbes Chinese edition.

 

Joseph Chen (MBA '99) - Chairman and CEO of Renren Inc. offered a keynote speech. Renren.com is one of China’s leading social networking sites, which completed its IPO on the NYSE (ticker: RENN) in May 2011 and now has a market cap of $2.6 billion. Joseph Chen is a pioneer of China's internet industry. Before founding Renren Inc., he was the co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of ChinaRen.com, a first-generation SNS in China and one of China's most visited websites in 1999.

 

China 2.0 Conference Co-Chairs shared sprie's research preview:

Duncan Clark is Senior Advisor for the China 2.0 Project at SPRIE and Chairman of BDA China, a company he founded in Beijing in 1994. An expert on the Internet, e-commerce and telecom sectors in China, he has guided BDA to become the leading technology and media advisory firm in China, with a team of 70 in Beijing serving financial institutions and corporations investing in high-growth sectors in China and neighboring markets.

 

 

Marguerite Gong Hancock is the Associate Director of SPRIE where co-leads overall programs and also directs research initiatives on "China 2.0" and "Smart Green Cities". Since joining Stanford in 1987, she has led international research programs at the intersection of business, technology, and policy at the Graduate School of Business and the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center. She is an expert on innovation and entrepreneurship for high technology regional development and has co-edited four books and co-directs an executive education program for international policymakers.

 

Panel discussion on "china new media & E-commerce investment outlook"

Tim Chang (MBA '01), Managing Director of Mayfield Fund. Tim is a proven venture investor and experienced global executive.  He was named on the 2011 Forbes Midas List of Top 100 Dealmakers, was featured by The Deal as one of five emerging VCs to watch and by the AlwaysON Hollywood IT List recognizing technology leaders in the digital entertainment industry. 

 

 

David Chao (MBA '93), Co-Founder and General Partner of DCM. He has been active in the information technology industry since the 1980s, participating in the fastest growing sectors of computers, communication and the Internet. David serves on the Boards of 51job, 99Bill, BitTorrent, Lumi, Renren.com, RockYou and Translattice. He is also responsible for the investments in Clearwire, eDreams, Fortinet, kabu.com and Sling Media.

 

 

 

Paul Kwan (BAS '96), Managing Director, Morgan Stanley. Paul leads the global Internet and software banking effort at Morgan Stanley. In China, Paul and his team have led the IPOs for Renren, 21Vianet, Phoenix New Media, 51job.com and others. Morgan Stanley has also been the lead left bookrunner on the recent IPOs for LinkedIn, Pandora, Yandex, and Homeaway. In M&A, Paul has been particularly focused on the convergence of internet advertising, commerce and technology, and advised Omniture on its $1.8Bn sale to Adobe, ATG on its $1.0Bn sale to Oracle, aQuantive on its $6.1Bn sale to Microsoft, DoubleClick on its $3.1Bn sale to Google, and Zappos on its $1.1Bn sale to Amazon.

 

Richard Lim (MBA '88), Managing director and co-founder of GSR Ventures, the premier early-stage venture capital firm in China. Mr. Lim focuses on investments in the Internet, digital media and green technology sectors. In the Internet sector, some of the boards where Mr. Lim serves are AdChina, Baihe, Lashou, LightInTheBox and Qunar.

 

 

 

Panel discussion on "China internet entrepreneurs"

Fritz Demopoulos, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Qunar.com. Fritz Demopoulos has been involved in the Chinese internet and media industries for over a decade. He was recently the co-founder and CEO of Qunar.com, China's largest travel website and venture backed by GSR, Mayfield, Granite and Tenaya. Qunar sold a majority stake to Baidu earlier this year, which was the largest trade sale in the history of the Chinese internet space.

 

 

 

Grace Huang, Founder and CEO of iPinYou Interactive Advertising Co. She started her career at P&G as brand manager and was an ex-McKinsey consultant focusing on marketing. She obtained her MBA degree from ULCA business school. She has profound knowledge in brand marketing and internet advertising, especially targeting advertising.

 

 

 

 

Jianshuo Wang, CEO of Baixing.com. He founded Hotales.net in college, an online marketing site. After six years at Microsoft he launched Kijiji, eBay's classified-advertising business in China in 2005. Three years later Mr. Wang spun off Baixing.com, an online community with listings for houses, jobs and second-hand goods.

 

 

 

Nick Yang (MS '99), Founder and CEO, Wukong.com; Co-Founder, ChinaRen.com and KongZhong. He is one of China's most successful digital media entrepreneurs. He started his third venture Wukong in 2008, a mobile internet operation support company for telecom operators and mobile internet distribution network. Mr. Yang is an active Angel investor and involved in many internet and media companies in China. He graduated from Stanford University, master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1999.

 

 

 

Presentation and Discussion Topics

• How are internet entrepreneurs transforming China’s technology sectors?  Are there any lessons from firms in China for the Valley beyond?  What is the future for US-based internet firms in China?

• Is China giving birth to truly innovative technologies, processes or business models?  If so, are any of these innovations exportable?

• How is the Venture Capital /Private Equity industry evolving in China? What patterns, strategies and practices distinguish the most active (and successful) investors?

• What are the most interesting new developments that will impact the future of China’s internet?  Who comprise the next generation of 2.0 start-ups in China?

• How is the landscape changing? What are the current key challenges and opportunities?

Conference sponsors