22
Sep
Venture capital: Deploying capital in the new era of deep tech
As China’s VC market rebounds, driven by strong interest in AI, a new wave of fundraising is emerging. Moving past "AI bubble" debates, investors are increasingly focused on sustainable business models and real-world AI applications. Meanwhile, the "Global Chinese" tech community and deal-hungry VCs continue to converge around innovation. Our panel of leading investors will analyze these defining trends and share their investment strategies at this exciting time for the industry.
- In the fast-paced AI market, how do GPs compete for top deals and ensure their portfolio companies have sustainable business models?
- Where are the best opportunities for real-world AI applications?
- The US faces friction over AI-driven job displacement, while China focuses on seamless business integration— which approach is more sustainable for investors?
- How is the "Global Chinese" tech community shaping the new wave of VC fundraising?
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SpeakersJingyi Xu Partner Cooley
Wei Zhou Founder, Cyber Creation Ventures (CCV) Former Managing Partner and Head of China, Kleiner Perkins
William Zhao Senior Partner BAI Capital
Henry He CIO and Partner HighLight Capital (HLC)
Ivy Li Partner Vitalbridge Capital
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Jingyi Xu is a partner of Cooley’s fund formation practice. Her practice focuses on the formation and representation of private investment funds both in the United States and internationally. In particular, Jingyi specializes in representing fund managers investing in China in connection with the formation of their USD-dominated funds, including venture capital funds, private equity funds and project funds, as well as upper-tier arrangements, carried interest plans and various governance matters. Jingyi also represents institutional investors (including sovereign wealth funds and funds of funds) and other investors in connection with investments in private funds.
Jingyi was recognized as a "Next Generation Partner" and "Rising Star" for investment funds practice in China by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 and 2021 editions respectively. She is also recognized as one of the "2022 Rising Stars" by China Business Law Journal.
Jingyi is a native Mandarin speaker and is fluent in English.
Wei Zhou is the Founder of Cyber Creation Ventures (CCV), Former Managing Partner and Head of China at Kleiner Perkins.
With over 30 years of entrepreneurial and venture investment experience, Wei is recognized as an early pioneer in China’s fintech sector and a long-term investor in transformative technology trends, including artificial intelligence, robotics, deep technology, and next-generation digital infrastructure.
His investments include JD.com (NASDAQ: JD), VenusTech (SZSE: 002439), Rong360 (NYSE: JT), ChineseAll (SZSE: 300364), Arrail Dental (HKEX: 06639), Perfect Corp. (NYSE: PERF), Mininglamp Technology (HKEX: 2718), Beijing SYS Science & Technology (SZSE: 301372), Ximalaya FM (acquired by Tencent Music Entertainment), as well as leading private technology companies such as Linkerbot, Shukun Technology, Coowa, Botinkit, Quicktron, and PPIO.
Wei has been recognized by Forbes, Fortune, and Caijing Magazine as one of the leading venture capital investors among global Chinese. He also serves as Governor and Treasurer of the China Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA).
Wei received his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a long-term entrepreneurship mentor at Wharton, Tsinghua PBC School of Finance, and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
William Zhao is an experienced investor in the fields of Fintech, Enterprise Services and Industrial Technology. He has over 10 years of experience in capital market and investment practices. The investment cases he has led and managed in the past include: YIXIN (2858.HK), Lexin (NASDAQ:LX), Linklogis (9959.HK), SF Intra City (9969.HK), Stori, Lejian Group, Opay, Seyond (02665.HK), Hellobike, Jiliguala, BlackLake etc. Many of them have become headline listed companies or unicorn companies in the industry.
William Zhao has received multiple industry honors, including 36Kr’s 36 Under 36 Outstanding Investors, China Venture’s F40 China Young Investors List, Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30, Forbes China’s 100 Outstanding Young Returned Overseas Elites in China, FoF Weekly’s 100 Young Leaders in the Investment Industry, and CYZone’s 40 Investors Under 40 etc.
William Zhao previously worked in the investment banking department of UBS and JPMorgan and graduated from the Department of Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Canada, majoring in Actuarial Science.
Mr. Henry He is CIO and Partner at HLC. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and a Master's degree in Biotechnology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prior to HLC, he held roles at ICBC International Capital, CITIC Capital, and Roland Berger, building deep expertise in cross-border transactions, strategic consulting, and VC/PE investing. Since joining HLC in 2016, he has led successful investments including BrightGene (688166.SH), Viva Biotech (1873.HK), Wego (603014.SH), Hanbon (688755.SH), Hongene, Metis TechBio (07666.HK), DP Technology, Approaching AI, HighsLab, and more.
Ivy has over 10 years of experience in investment field and joined Vitalbridge in 2019 as one of the founding members. She leads the firm’s investment in Embodied AI sector since 2023 and executed multiple signature deals in this area as the early investor, including Hypershell, LimX Dynamics, Spririt AI, Encos, Sudo,Originflow, Nature Will, etc. Before joining Vitalbridge, Ivy served as a senior investment professional at Australian Capital Equity (ACE), leading major transactions in advanced tech sectors, including Meicai, Wifi Master Key, etc.