China's CIC sets up $184m cross-border tech fund with Ireland

CIC, which is investing via its private equity platform CIC Capital, and ISIF will each contribute EUR75 million. The fund will focus on both Irish companies seeking to enter China and Chinese companies looking to use Ireland as a European base.

China-Ireland Technology Growth Fund II will be co-managed by Dublin-based Atlantic Bridge and Beijing-based WestSummit Capital, both of which are expected to leverage their local networks to facilitate international expansions for portfolio companies. Target sectors will include internet-of-things, mobile devices, big data, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

“Ireland’s competitiveness in the technology sector has been growing notably over the years,” Tu Guangshao, vice chairman and president of CIC, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with ISIF to expand our relationship. Irish companies supported by the fund could bring cutting-edge technologies and innovations to China.”

The first China-Ireland Technology Growth Fund was launched in 2014 with $50 million contributions supplied by both CIC and the National Pensions Reserve Fund, a predecessor of ISIF. It was also managed by Atlantic and WestSummit, and has now been fully deployed.

Fund I invested six Irish technology companies aiming to expand into China, including Movidius, a machine vision specialist which was acquired by Intel in a 2016 deal reportedly worth almost $400 million. Fund II is expected to differ from its predecessor by focusing more strongly on Chinese companies that plan to establish a footprint in Europe.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Europe
• Growth
• Technology
• Fundraising
• China
• CIC
• Atlantic Bridge Capital
• WestSummit Capital