Hi, I’m Azeem Azhar. I convene Exponential View to help us understand how our societies and political economy will change under the force of rapidly accelerating technologies. Every Wednesday, I do this in Charts of the Week.

DEPT OF KILLING THE GOOSE

Smashed eggs
In last Sunday’s newsletter, I argued that Xi’s model of unilateral and centralised decision-making is taking its toll on the Chinese tech sector. It’s getting worse: tech stocks are collapsing. The Nasdaq Goldman Dragon China Index dropped by 20%, and Alibaba is down 32.74% and below its September 2014 IPO date.

No more gold
”Lowest level since 2007” is rarely something you want to read.

Emptying nest
The country is losing its manufacturing dominance in some lower-value consumer goods.

WEEKLY SURVEY

Africa is defying global trends, with venture funding increasing by 150% in Q1 2022 compared to the same period the previous year. 

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Source: Quartz Africa

For more on the African innovation scene, I would recommend The Big Deal newsletter. They recently published a great breakdown of the gender disparity in the continent’s startup scene. 

*In the previous edition of Charts of the Week, we asked how much Amazon’s employee attrition costs the firm annually. Just 19% of readers selected the correct answer: $8bn. Well done!*

DEPT OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES