It was recently announced that Zhenfund has partnered with Sequoia Capital China to start a new joint seed venture fund, worth US$30 million. The joint venture plans to invest in many promising early stage start-ups to help them realize their dreams.
The fund itself is worth RMB 200 Million or US$30 Million but is split 50/50, between USD and RMB. It was structured this way to invest in both China registered companies and VIE structured companies that are usually based in USD. Zhenfund makes US$500,000 and below investments only.
The collaboration will be a major threat to many other angel investors looking for the best deals. Sequoia is undoubtedly one of the premier VC’s in America with high calibre investments in companies such as Youtube, Zappos, Tumblr, Linkedin, Dropbox and Airbnb. In China, Sequoia also has a strong track record with investments in companies like 360Buy, Dianping, Douban, Okaybuy, and Meituan. Just as impressively, ZhenFund was founded by the famous angel investor Xu Xiaoping. ZhenFund has invested at a very early stage in companies such as Lightinthebox, Jumei and Jiayuan.
In a statement, Xu Xiaoping said ZhenFund has invested in nearly 80 start-ups over the past five years as part of ZhenFund 1.0. “The new ZhenFund, gives me the opportunity to expand with Sequoia’s experience and resource.” Said Xu. Neil Shen of Sequoia China praised Xu Xiaoping and talked about his impressive investment record in entrepreneurs.
Xu Xiaoping gained fame and fortune after co-founding New Oriental, an English Language training center in China. New Oriental claims to be the largest provider of private education in China and is listed on NYSE and dominates the English test preparation market with 75% market share. . In 2006 China Southern People’s Daily voted him one of the most charismatic characters in China, and in 2004 Forbes Magazine listed Xiaoping as on of the “Top 100 Celebrities in China”. Xiaoping attended the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music in China and received his Masters in Music from the University of Saskatchewan
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