Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures Visit China as Country’s AI Prowess Rises

U.S. venture capitalists have slashed investments in Chinese startups in recent years as relations between the two superpowers have soured. But behind the scenes, plenty are taking weekslong trips to meet with the country’s tech founders—a sign of the influence Chinese startups like DeepSeek wield in the hottest parts of tech.

Last month, three partners at Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund—Sean Liu, John Luttig and Joey Krug—visited tech companies in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It was the second trip to China Liu had made in the past year and Luttig’s first visit to the country, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The idea was not to make investments but to learn about China’s thriving tech sector.