Qiming Venture Partners (啟明創投) raised US$3.2 billion across two new funds, joining Sequoia Capital China (紅杉資本中國) and IDG Capital in securing fresh capital as investors grow more sanguine about China’s start-up arena.
Qiming, known for early bets on tech giants from ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動) to Meituan (美團) and Xiaomi Corp (小米), becomes at least the third venture house in recent weeks to home in on significant new capital.
The firm closed its oversubscribed USD Fund VIII at US$2.5 billion and also raised about US$700 million in the first closing of a yuan-denominated fund, both aimed at the technology, consumer and healthcare sectors.
Qiming now manages US$9.4 billion across 18 funds, it said in a statement yesterday.
Venture funding in China plummeted at the start of this year as the government’s far-reaching crackdown on consumer Internet, gaming and fintech hit valuations across public and private markets.
Venture capital and private equity funds raised only US$6.2 billion in the first five months of the year, a 90 percent drop from the previous year, while start-up investments slowed 40 percent to US$34 billion, according to data from research firm Preqin.
Investors remain cautious about regulatory uncertainty, but recent weeks have shown signs of improving sentiment, as Sequoia Capital China secured about US$9 billion for investments in tech and consumer firms. IDG Capital is poised to raise about US$900 million for a new China-focused fund backed mostly by existing investors.
Early-stage investor BlueRun Ventures China (藍馳創投) also reached the final close of a second dual-currency fund of more than 5.5 billion yuan in May, according to a company statement.
Founded in 2006, Qiming has backed more than 480 companies. The company has made more than 180 exits, it said in the statement.
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