WI Harper International: Bridge between Silicon Valley and Asia

SUBJECT AREAS: venture capital, strategic partnerships, global venture capital CASE SETTING: WI Harper International, 1997, Silicon Valley, Taiwan, China REQUESTS FOR COPIES: To receive a copy of this case, please contact Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163. Phone: (800) 545-7685. E-Mail: MAILTO:custserv@hbsp.harvard.edu Or you may contact Thomas Hellman via E-Mail: MAILTO:hellmann@leland.stanford.edu WI Harper is an innovative venture capital fund that attempts to implement an investment strategy that is based on a brokerage role between Silicon Valley and selected Asian economies. Its value-adding proposition is that it can provide networking connections on both sides of the Pacific. The case describes the investment approach of WI Harper, its investment criteria and its process of providing networking services. It then describes two early portfolio companies, one located in Taiwan and the other located in Silicon Valley. The Taiwanese company is mainly interested in market entry in the US. The Silicon Valley company might benefit from supplier relationships in China and is looking at entering the Chinese market. The case also discusses a potential investment opportunity that WI Harper is facing at the time of the case.