We all know about DeepSeek, Temu, and TikTok—three Chinese-born platforms that not only compete with but often outperform their Silicon Valley counterparts on their home turf.
But this isn’t an isolated trend. Every new internet wave—from video-first social platforms to mass-production e-commerce to cost-efficient AI innovation—sees Chinese companies often disrupting early leaders from the West.
The Three Waves of “Chinnovation” 🌏
1️⃣ The First Wave: Homegrown Giants Expanding Outward
Alibaba, Tencent, and Bytedance first built dominance within China, then expanded globally through strategic investments and M&As—gaining indirect influence in new markets.
2️⃣ The Second Wave: Global-First Strategies
Instead of just investing, Chinese tech giants began building global versions of their apps.
✔ TikTok was not just a translation of Douyin but a reimagined global social platform.
✔ Temu wasn’t just another marketplace—it tapped into China’s manufacturing advantage to dominate e-commerce abroad.
3️⃣ The Third Wave: Chinese Talent, Global Companies
This latest wave isn’t innovation from China per se, but rather entrepreneurial and engineering talent shaped by China’s hyper-competitive market—now building companies across the world.
💡 The result? A new breed of startups combining the best of two worlds:
✅ Leaders with “Chinnovation” experience—battle-tested in competition & scaling.
✅ Founders who understand local market execution—especially in emerging economies like Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
Why This Matters for M&A & Tech Expansion
This borderless innovation model is already shaping major M&A trends—as both Chinese and Western tech giants seek out these globally minded, operationally efficient startups.
Southeast Asia, in particular, is a prime region for these ventures. The proximity to China, coupled with high-growth opportunities in digital adoption, has created a thriving ecosystem for such companies—many of whom we’ve partnered with and covered on Insignia Business Review.
🚀 Want to keep up with how “Chinnovation” is shaping emerging market regions like Southeast Asia?
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Paulo Joquiño is a writer and content producer for tech companies, and co-author of the book Navigating ASEANnovation. He is currently Editor of Insignia Business Review, the official publication of Insignia Ventures Partners, and senior content strategist for the venture capital firm, where he started right after graduation. As a university student, he took up multiple work opportunities in content and marketing for startups in Asia. These included interning as an associate at G3 Partners, a Seoul-based marketing agency for tech startups, running tech community engagements at coworking space and business community, ASPACE Philippines, and interning at workspace marketplace FlySpaces. He graduated with a BS Management Engineering at Ateneo de Manila University in 2019.
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