Livecast 2: The Business of Cybersecurity in China with Ed Tsai, ex-QiAnXin

Tech Buzz China 英文科技评论

Recorded Feb. 5, 2021.

On this livecast, we chat with seasoned investor Ed Tsai on the business of cybersecurity in China. Here are the main points:

Ed's self introduction of how he ended up in China and some background on his most recent employer, QiAnXin, the largest pureplay cybersecurity company in China, a $15Bn market cap company that is at about 5,000 employees.

Overview of the sector & history of the regulations that have really accelerated the industry. Hint: now that you can personally get fined or go to jail for having lax security software, executives and governments are buying quality solutions and willing to pay the price.

Consequences of the US-China decoupling and its effects on Chinese cybersecurity businesses.

Ed thinks the entire space falls roughly into 4 categories and gives the representative players for each.

Differences between US, China and Israeli companies in cybersecurity.

Are we going to see foreign companies enter China successfully? What about Chinese companies going abroad? China seems to have a cost advantage.

We end with some innovations Ed observes in the Chinese cybersecurity ecosystem but also overall business environment in China. Some of these things are out of necessity, such as training up talent.