Investment Opportunities at the Edge of Major Market Transformation

In the past 20 years, a well-known venture capital firm has invested in over 230 projects across multiple fields, including social media, marketplace platforms, development tools, education, healthcare, fintech, Web3, decentralized systems, as well as energy and climate. The company's investment philosophy has always focused on key moments that can trigger new paradigms and social change.

Looking back at its investment journey, we can see several distinct phase characteristics:

• In 2003-2004, the Internet application layer became an investment hotspot, and early infrastructure investments showed advantages during this period.
• By the mid-21st century, new online applications such as social networks and market platforms will show great potential.
• In the early 2010s, investment focus shifted to vertically segmented networks, new infrastructure layers, and decentralized computing systems.
• By the end of the 2010s, the impact of internet applications on the global economy deepened, and investment began to focus on how to expand the acquisition of key resources and enhance system trust.
• Around 2020, with the intensification of the climate crisis, energy transition and adaptive innovation became new investment focal points.
• Currently, the rapid development of large language models and artificial intelligence is enhancing the accessibility and practicality of software, while also highlighting the necessity of establishing a new type of digital trust mechanism.

After long-term practice, this investment company has summarized a core investment philosophy: focusing on the opportunities emerging at the margins of large markets under the pressure of technological and social change.

They believe that the "margins" of a large market are often fertile ground for new ideas and new methods to emerge. Marginal startups may initially seem odd, but they often have the potential to challenge existing businesses in disruptive ways. For example, early social media was not seen as a competitor to traditional media, and early cryptocurrencies were not considered to be challenging the financial system.

New technologies make what was once impossible possible. These innovations often require a lot of experimentation at the outset, and "fringe" strategies such as consumer-first, productive consumers, developer-first, and open-source models can bypass market gatekeepers and create space for free experimentation.

Technological and social pressures may disrupt existing market structures, creating opportunities for new companies and networks. Technological pressures may include new operating systems, crypto assets, and artificial intelligence, while social pressures may encompass global challenges such as the climate crisis and the crisis of civic trust. These pressures combine to potentially transform static market structures into dynamic ones, providing a chance for startups to make a comeback.

Looking ahead to the next 20 years, as global changes accelerate and new technologies emerge, this investment company will continue to adhere to its core strategy of seeking investment opportunities on the fringes of large markets driven by transformative pressures. They look forward to collaborating with like-minded founders to explore the infinite possibilities at the market's edge.