China live streaming: the ship has already sailed

The live streaming industry has been on a tear in China, with more than 200 platforms looking to feed the insatiable appetite of the nation's young people for live video delivered online.

Tech giants and venture capitalists have poured investment money into the platforms, pushing a handful to unicorn status valuations of more than $1 billion. That's not surprising, given 344 million Chinese, 47% of the nation's internet users, use live streaming apps and have created a market worth $2.5 billion, according to China Internet Network Information Center research link in Chinese.

But early-stage investors who haven't backed a platform so far would be wise to...