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Silicon Valley can be a great indicator of what tech we should be watching in order to make some smart money moves. Here are some exciting tips we can learn from current news coming out of the land of the computer gods.
#1) Seattle Startups Are On the Map
Investors based in the Silicon Valley area aren’t just looking for new businesses to invest in their local area, they’re looking all over the place. Right now some of them have their sites set on finding the next startups to fund in the Seattle area. Rexford Hibbs is one of them, an investor and entrepreneur who started the crowdfunding site DreamFunded.com. They’re setting their sites quite high and feel confident about what they might find in the Seattle area.
“The Purpose of our trip up to Seattle is to find some great startups to look at funding. We want to build some strong relationships with VC firms, angel groups and incubators so we can co-invest in the Seattle area. There are some really great startups coming out of the Pacific Northwest and a great abundance of technology talent. We are looking for the next potential Microsoft and Amazon and with our platform we hope to capture some of those.”
#2) The Bitotech Industry Is On the Rise
Software is still running the show in Silicon Valley, but the biotech industry is not too far behind. Venture capitalists are currently giving more money to the biotech industry in the area than they have in seven years. Examples of what the biotech industry is currently getting into includes trying to find cures for cancer and other genetic diseases that we need cures for as well.
There are a lot of reasons why venture capitalists are suddenly being more generous with the biotech industry. One reason hopefully is because there are a lot of really good ideas and progress coming out of the area! Other reasons include the fact that clinical trials seem to be going better than ever before, the researchers are highly informed, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working faster to get approved drugs and treatments out into the market.
Interestingly this influx of money for treating diseases is not limited to Silicon Valley either, venture capitalists have also been putting a lot of money into biotech companies in places like Boston as well. It’s something to pay attention to when you’re thinking about where you might want to invest money in the coming years.
Naturally the added money can help the biotech industry be even more successful, which would help it gain even more money. Helmy Eltoukhy, the co-founder and CEO of Guardant Health recently spoke about this change.
“We’re amazed by the response we’re seeing from investors. The funding is allowing us to scale up to meet the unexpected (patient) demand. We moved into a larger facility, and we could build a larger lab and scale this operation. It’s been a much healthier funding environment for biotech and health care companies than I can remember.”
#3) Mexico Is Looking Promising As a Startup Place
Besides just paying attention to what is happening in our own country, sometimes it is a good idea to pay attention to the startup cultures in other countries. Investors here sure are, since working together and being invested across country lines is common. Mexico has created a great public policy system that looks promising for technology companies. Some are saying that it could actually be really great for our own ecosystem if we start investing in up and coming startups in Mexico, and a lot of the startups in Mexico could use the experience of the investor’s knowledge coming out of Silicon Valley.
Many of the smaller companies are too big of a risk at the moment, but there is a lot of untapped market in the Mexico area including the healthcare, energy, and telecom markets. It’s something to pay attention to, because at some point someone is probably going to join forces which could alter both of our markets.
Do you keep up on the happenings of Silicon Valley or are you generally surprised by the news that comes out of there? Let us know if any of these ideas gave you investing ideas or made you start thinking about the future.
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