Beijing-based V Fund has reached the first closing of its fifth RMB-denominated fund to focus on early- to growth-stage startups in areas including artificial intelligence (AI), humanoid robots, and smart manufacturing.
V Fund, whose assets under management (AUM) are north of 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), is looking to raise no more than 1 billion yuan ($139.3 million) for its RMB Fund V, the firm announced on Wednesday.
The first closing saw V Fund secure capital commitments from listed companies, large financial investment groups, and China’s state funds-of-funds (FOFs) and government guidance funds at the municipal and provincial levels. Its existing limited partners (LPs) continued to deploy into the new fund, the firm said.
The deeptech-focused Chinese investment firm is the latest in the market raising a new fund in the name of AI, following an array of fund managers in the country hoping to cash in on rising investors’ interest in this technology after the DeepSeek moment, as well as Beijing’s long-standing support for homegrown AI and relevant applications.
V Fund said its RMB Fund V will primarily invest in startups playing a part in the “upstream and downstream industry chains” of AI, humanoid robots, and smart manufacturing. Its cheques will focus on financing early- to mid-stage and growth-stage companies.
Since its inception in 2015, V Fund has built a portfolio of nearly 100 tech companies, including the world’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) and Chinese autonomous driving firm Horizon Robotics.
The firm also invested in Zhipu AI, widely known as one of China’s “Six Tigers” in large language model (LLM) development. Zhipu AI initiated steps towards an initial public offering (IPO) in mainland China when it hired China International Capital Corporation (CICC) in April to advise on its listing process.
Of its near-100 portfolio companies, V Fund said that over 20 of them are publicly listed or in the listing review process for their planned IPOs. More than 15 are currently at the IPO application stage.
Several V Fund-backed companies are eyeing a near-term IPO, including Chinese warehouse robotics solutions provider Geekplus, which received a green light from the listing committee earlier this week to move ahead with its Hong Kong IPO. Clean energy company Sigenergy Technology also filed for an IPO application in the city this February.
Its US-sanctioned AI chip startup Biren Technology was reportedly considering a Hong Kong IPO to raise about $300 million. Its IPO could happen as early as this year, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
V Fund is also an investor of semiconductor IP developer AkroStar Technology, which hired Guotai Haitong Securities in April to advise on its mainland Chinese IPO plan.
