Silicon Valley and San Francisco experience tech boom

Global Business

Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area have been experiencing a mini-tech boom.

But some of the most successful companies are starting to feel the job is not quite complete until they’ve had success globally. And to many, that means China.

That’s the focus of the Sync 2014 China Towards conference in San Francisco. Mark Niu reports from Silicon Valley.

This year’s Sync Conference organized by online Tech Media Pingwest brought together Silicon Valley heavyweights and their respective representatives in China.

The main focus was looking at what was working for startups in China and also what was not working so well. Many young Silicon Valley startups attended to soak up as much advice as possible as they also set their sights on tackling the Chinese market.

At Sync China towards, entrepreneurs make their pitches. And network heavily looking to make the right connection.

For many, the focus is on becoming global and expanding into China even for already successful Silicon Valley tech companies like online professional network LinkedIn.

Henry Li, Head of Product, LinkedIn China says, “China really is too big a market to ignore and there are lots of professionals there. By one estimate 150 million professionals.”

Linkedin launched its Chinese language Beta version four months ago. It now has more than 5 million registered users in China.

Angel investor Dave McClure is the co-founder of Silicon Valley accelerator 500 startups. He’s made a few investments in Greater China, but is still proceeding cautiously.  Dave McClure, Founding Partner, 500 Startups: But I’d still say you have a lot of the language and culture issues that you have everywhere, and just particularly China is extremely competitive with respect to alternatives and soyou are very likely to see local market competitors for whatever service in China. And they probably already launched in China before the U.S. or non-Chinese equivalent company goes into China.”

One Silicon Valley company that has so far made a smooth transition to China is Evernote, which produces a family apps centered around helping you remember things. The Redwood City, California startup now has 100 million users globally, and ten million in China, where it’s been in operation for just two years.

Silicon Valley and San Francisco experience tech boom

Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area have been experiencing a mini-tech boom.

Evernote is all about serving as your very own extra memory.

The app allows you to store text, pictures and audio and easily sync that information between devices.

Amy Gu, the General Manager of Evernote’s China office joins the discussion.

Amy Gu discusses tech boom

Evernote is all about serving as your very own extra memory.