Forget Alibaba, Tencent, China unleashes 'Little Giants' in tech war against US
In today’s China, behemoths like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are out of favor, but “little giants” are on the rise. That’s the designation for a new generation of startups that have been selected under an ambitious government program aimed at fostering a technology industry that can compete with Silicon Valley. These often-obscure companies have demonstrated they’re doing something innovative and unique, and they’re targeting strategically important sectors like robotics, quantum computing and semiconductors.
Wu Gansha won the little giants title for his autonomous driving startup after a government review of his technology. That gave the Beijing company, Uisee, an extra dose of credibility and financial benefits. Last year, it raised more than 1 billion yuan ($157 million), including money from a state-owned fund. It’s also become a unicorn, with a valuation of at least $1 billion.
“It’s an honor to wear the little giant label,” Wu said. “The essence of the project is that the companies must possess some specialty that others don’t have.”
The program has been around for more than a decade, but it has taken on new prominence after Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown against leading companies like Alibaba and Tencent. The little giants label has become a valued measure of government endorsement, a signal for investors and employees that the companies are insulated from regulatory punishment. President Xi Jinping has given his personal blessing to the program.
'This is helpful to startups in many ways: It's a subsidy. It's a grant. It's an honor. It's a stamp of approval,” said Lee Kai-Fu, founding managing director of the venture firm Sinovation.
The program is key to the Communist Party’s
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