How the globalization of venture capital is driving the next wave of innovation

By Jame DiBiasio and Terrance Philips

Venture capital (VC) is the business of financing the new—and making outsized profits. It grew up in Silicon Valley, backing the most influential companies known today, including Apple and Airbnb.

It’s not the iPhone, but VC, that is Silicon Valley’s greatest export—it’s the key ingredient of innovation, and provides the toolkit for inventors and startup founders around the world to become powerful, multi-billion-dollar companies.

Once other countries learned how to finance risky startups, they could unlock their own innovative energies.

And where is VC placing its bets today?

The answer is: everywhere. China. India. Israel. Brazil.

Planet VC uncovers the story of how VC went global, transforming cities from Beijing to Bangalore into the techno-hubs of tomorrow. Authors Terrance Philips and Jame DiBiasio follow the money to understand how VC helped enable the rise of America’s global competitors, and where the world of innovation is headed next.

What sectors or technologies are VCs backing in different parts of the world?
How does VC work in countries as different as China and India?
How do governments influence the funding of innovation?
And how is technology, from blockchain to the metaverse, changing the nature of VC?

By exploring these questions, through in-depth interviews with the people who pioneered venture investing around the world as well as with today’s industry leaders, Planet VC provides a unique and useful framework for understanding the future of global innovation.

Jame DiBiasio is a writer, journalist, and historian. Based in Hong Kong since 1997, he founded various financial trade publications for the region, and set up his own media business in 2017 to focus on fintech. He is author of COWRIES TO CRYPTO, a history of money; as well as two books on Asian history covering medieval temple societies in Cambodia and Burma. He is also co-author of BLOCK KONG, profiling blockchain entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. In his spare time Jame writes international thrillers, some of which have also been published.

Terrance Philips was a senior banker at Silicon Valley Bank for nearly 12 years, where he helped build its international businesses. Silicon Valley Bank is a unique institution, specializing in venture debt (debt for startups and the VCs backing them). This is an incredibly niche part of the world of private capital, but it has given SVB an unparalleled view on the VC industry worldwide. Terrance is using his incredible network to win interviews for the authors with the VC industry, from pioneers to executives at today’s hottest firms. Terrance was previously managing director at Citibank.