Asking Science, Crafting the Future | Yunqi Capital 2023 Annual Fund Partners Meeting

云启资本·December 6, 2023

Seeking the path to fundamental science, exploring the road to breakthroughs in technology and intelligent manufacturing.

When we trace the trajectory of modern human civilization, a clear thread emerges, driven by the advance of "basic science": in energy structures, humanity moved fully into the electrified era, then gradually toward solar and atomic energy; in information channels, the internet catalyzed informatization, and now AI is leading us into an era of intelligence — behind these massive leaps in productivity lies disruptive technological innovation, and the true source of all technological innovation is the development of basic science.

Recently, under the theme "Pursuing Science, Crafting the Future," we hosted Yunqi Capital's 2023 Annual LP Meeting. On the morning of the event, we organized a special visit, inviting fund partners and entrepreneurs to the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute for in-depth exchanges with academicians and scientists — exploring new horizons for social innovation and productivity gains through the lens of basic science's development direction.

Morning: "Pursuing Science"

Visiting the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute

The Tsung-Dao Lee Institute focuses on fundamental questions in physics and astronomy, expanding the boundaries of human knowledge in uncharted research territories.

Led by research staff, we toured the Fundamental Muon Physics Laboratory and the Novel Quantum Materials Laboratory. In foundational research on muon physics and novel quantum materials, China's scientific capabilities rank in the international first tier.

Listening to researchers introduce advanced experimental equipment

We then attended keynote speeches by two academicians. Institute Director Jie Zhang, in his address "Toward the Era of Fusion Energy," outlined the current global landscape in fusion energy development, compared and analyzed different technological pathways for nuclear fusion, and projected key milestones for breakthroughs in fusion power generation along with their prospects for industrialization and commercialization. Academician Zhang emphasized that breakthroughs in laser fusion research will play a crucial role in advancing China's industrial chain upgrade, particularly in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, industrial robotics, 3D printing, and the energy sector.

In Vice Director Hong Ding's speech "Topological Qubits — The 'Transistor' of Quantum Computers," he elaborated on the development status of mainstream global quantum computing approaches and the thinking behind topological quantum computing, introducing domestic advanced experimental platforms and goals for future industrialization. He noted that due to its inherently parallel computing power, quantum computing will bring disruptive revolution to information technology and major breakthroughs in big data processing and complex system optimization.

Listening to speeches by Academicians Jie Zhang and Hong Ding

During the subsequent lunch, Academician Zhang shared with guests the origins and development of the institute, and the dedication of scientists in tackling fundamental scientific challenges through China's own efforts. The process of basic research is often full of twists and turns, yet scientists devote themselves to their research year after year, driven by pure pursuit of scientific faith, genuine curiosity and love for the essence of things — thinking deeply, without arrogance or impatience, consistently choosing to work on more fundamental, more difficult, and more valuable problems. Yunqi Capital has maintained close exchanges with the institute, often moved by scientists' spirit of pursuing truth and nurturing younger scholars. Founding partner Chengyu Mao, as an alumnus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, donated the "Yuanqi" Observatory to the institute, hoping to contribute modestly to China's basic science research.

On site, guests engaged in enthusiastic exchanges with academicians and young scientists, strengthening the close ties between research and industry, deepening mutual understanding, and seeking the driving force to jointly advance technological innovation.

Lunch and in-depth exchanges with scientists

In the afternoon, the Yunqi team gathered with nearly two hundred fund partners, portfolio companies, and key partners, using AI's future development as the main thread to discuss how AI can empower the development of intelligent manufacturing, robotics, and industrial digital intelligence industries, as well as the latest progress and application prospects in frontier fields such as optical computing chips and controllable nuclear fusion.

Afternoon: "Crafting the Future" — 2023 Annual LP Meeting

In his opening remarks, Founding Partner Chengyu Mao shared his reflections on the present moment:

"We are all living through transformative times, and we need to maintain the confidence to keep moving forward. The source of this confidence lies in our expectations for commercial and productivity progress — and looking back, leaps in commerce and productivity have often come from disruptive innovation and breakthroughs.

At the end of 2022, generative AI erupted, and this disruptive innovation opened entirely new opportunities for tech investment; China's industrial chain achieved breakthrough upgrades, with advantages becoming increasingly pronounced, bringing unique new opportunities for domestic investment. At the same time, we have become more deeply aware that the major breakthroughs in AI technology have their source in the continuous progress of basic scientific research. This morning, we visited the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute to 'pursue science' together, looking ahead to future development led by basic science. This afternoon, we will focus on 'artificial intelligence' and 'China's new manufacturing,' exploring trends in industry and investment."

Founding Partner Chengyu Mao delivers opening remarks

Founding Partner Yubin Huang addressed the gathering on "Frontier Technology: From Research to Industrialization." One of our key investment focuses is tracking the latest developments in "iterative technological innovation" and "revolutionary technological breakthroughs" based on underlying scientific advances, accelerating the industrialization of research outcomes, and using AI and other innovative technologies to empower new applications and create new value.

Yunqi Capital has invested in multiple innovative companies with core technologies in new materials, new energy, controllable nuclear fusion, and optical computing chips. In the subsequent panel discussion, Yubin Huang moderated as portfolio companies explored how frontier technologies can help upgrade industrial models, and how enterprises can face new opportunities and challenges amid rapid AI development.

Founding Partner Yubin Huang delivers remarks and moderates panel discussion

Partner Yu Chen spoke on "New-Generation AI Technology Progress and Investment Thinking," reviewing AI's developmental path and looking ahead to new opportunities brought by next-generation AI technology. AI is an industry with a very long industrial chain and complex ecosystem, spanning from foundational computing infrastructure to model layers, middleware, and upstream applications, with numerous sub-sectors in between. We have long tracked the latest developments in AI and actively made systematic investments across various sub-sectors. At the end of 2021, we invested at the angel round in MiniMax, a startup developing self-built tri-modal general large models. We have also invested in leading domestic startups in middleware, vector databases, and other areas.

As AI truly penetrates every industry, it will unlock enormous new potential. Moreover, large models are still largely confined to the digital world; embodied intelligence and robotics have the opportunity to become crucial bridges between the digital and physical worlds, and combined with China's powerful industrial chain advantages, this will also be a key focus area for us. We believe that artificial intelligence will continue to help society improve productivity, boost economic growth, and exert profound influence on society.

Partner Yu Chen delivers remarks

Managing Director Yao Feng spoke on "New Changes and Investment Strategies in Industrial Digital Intelligence," sharing our strategy and thinking in the industry + AI direction. This year, over 90% of Yunqi's portfolio companies have adopted generative AI and achieved revenue growth — in practical applications, AI is already tangibly reducing costs and improving efficiency for enterprises.

From a macro policy perspective, top-level design has consistently emphasized industrial digitalization, AI, and industrial upgrading. Yunqi was among the earliest domestic investment institutions to begin deploying in industrial internet. Facing the new opportunities in "AI + Software + Industry," investment institutions need to simultaneously grasp scenarios, understand technology, and have deep comprehension of China's unique industrial development path. Yunqi's cross-disciplinary team has accumulated years of experience in both industry and technology, which is precisely our advantage when facing new opportunities.

Managing Director Yao Feng delivers remarks

Executive Director Ruiting Zheng spoke on "Robotics Explosion and Great-Power Manufacturing," sharing our strategy and thinking in robotics and AI + new manufacturing. Looking back at robotics development over the past decade, China's industrial chain advantages have gradually become prominent, with core self-developed capabilities growing increasingly strong. Yunqi has invested in multiple leading companies in industrial robotics, service robotics, and core components, which have achieved global leadership in innovative technology and market share. This year, AI breakthroughs have opened greater development space for robotics, while humanoid general-purpose robots have become a major focal point; Yunqi has invested in a leading domestic team combining production and research in this field. Ruiting Zheng then moderated a panel discussion with guests on new opportunities for Chinese manufacturing in the new context of AI and the era of global expansion.

Executive Director Ruiting Zheng delivers remarks and moderates panel discussion

Executive Director Yi Han spoke on "IT Application Innovation: Growth and Outlook for Industrial Digital Intelligence," sharing our investment strategy in industrial software. The development of China's new-type industry cannot proceed without factory digital intelligence, and currently, there remains substantial room to improve the localization rate of high-end industrial software. Since 2018, Yunqi has made systematic deployments in industrial digitalization, with portfolio companies already achieving industry leadership in industrial connectivity, product R&D, and production management and control. Going forward, under the themes of AI+ and ESG+, we will continue to combine software and hardware and deepen our presence in key vertical industrial sectors. Yi Han then moderated a panel discussion with guests on how Chinese self-developed industrial software can deepen industry engagement and create value.

Executive Director Yi Han delivers remarks and moderates panel discussion

Within the themes of our era, we seek the roots of science, take pragmatic action, and plan for the long term. We believe that China's unique AI development path and globally leading manufacturing system will give rise to even more new opportunities. We will continue to walk alongside scientists and entrepreneurs, embracing change together and dedicating ourselves to the new era of technological innovation.

Special thanks to the following portfolio companies for product support: