meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The a16z Show

a16z Podcast: The Tiger and the Dragon -- On Tech and Startups in India and China

The a16z Show

a16z

Business, Technology, Disruption, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Science, Software Eating The World, Culture

4.21.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2015

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

India and China. The two most populous countries on the planet are also two of the most tantalizing markets for companies of all size, from startups to conglomerates. But those markets are also intensely, densely competitive: There's a lot of capital...

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi everyone, welcome to the A6 and Z podcast. I'm Sonal, and today we're talking about India and China. And we have two partners from Andrewson Horowitz joining us for this discussion. We have Connie Chan, who is a partner in the investing team and she covers all things China for the firm. And we have Anu Hari Hurran, who is a partner in the deal and investing team and covers marketplaces, e-commerce, and a bunch of other areas.

0:23.5

India-in-Tenna is obviously a really huge topic.

0:25.2

So we're talking about everything from the nature of the competition that's playing out there right now, whether global players have an advantage or do local players truly have an advantage.

0:33.3

We're talking about logistics and infrastructure.

0:35.1

We're talking about the talent landscape, both locally and beyond, and whether that even matters, given the permeable boundaries between borders, and so much more. So we're just going to get started.

0:45.2

What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions that people have when it comes to thinking about China and India?

0:51.6

At least from what I've heard in the venture capital community in Asia,

0:55.8

India is a fascinating place to me because I have a whole group of investors who think India is

1:00.5

the next China and they believe that that wave is starting right now and they're eager to deploy

1:05.6

money. And then I have a whole other camp of investors and advisors who are saying, oh, no, it's

1:10.4

much longer.

1:11.6

There are far bigger differences than you realize. And just because they're both countries that

1:16.7

have massive populations doesn't mean that they're similar. So I agree with you. I think there

1:21.1

are a ton of misconceptions out there about India, in particular how it compares to China.

1:26.5

Yeah. And I think, you know, not just in comparison to China, the other misconception

1:30.7

I have seen is also that, you know, a lot of the companies are easily classified as clones

1:36.1

of U.S. companies.

1:37.8

You know, you almost start seeing things like, oh, is this the Amazon of India?

1:41.8

Is this the Uber of India?

1:44.1

And, you know, they may not be completely

1:45.8

wrong in saying that, but I do think there's a lot of elements in execution that's quite

1:50.8

different and local to those markets that's very different from the U.S. So it's not necessary

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from a16z, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of a16z and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.