3 Yunqi Capital Portfolio Founders Named to *Fortune* "40 Under 40" China Business Elite List | Yunqi Capital News

On August 13, Fortune's 2024 "40 Under 40" China list was released. Three founders from Yunqi Capital's portfolio made the cut: Junjie Yan, founder and CEO of MiniMax; Guang Zhou, founder and CEO of DeepRoute; and Wen Han, founder, chairman and CEO of Windrose Technology.

First published in 2011, the list seeks to identify young leaders driving change in Chinese business. Previous Yunqi family members who have been honored include Qi Liu, co-founder and CEO of PingCAP; Yi Xu, co-founder of Sobot; Zhenhong Zhao, founder and CEO of Baibu; Xiaohuang Huang, founder and CEO of Coohom; and Tong Li, founder and CEO of Keenon Robotics.

Since its founding in 2014, Yunqi Capital has focused on early-to-mid-stage investments in technology innovation. We began supporting MiniMax (angel round), DeepRoute (angel round), and Windrose Technology (Series A) from their earliest stages, and are now working alongside them to push forward the productivity transformation being driven by artificial intelligence.

Here is more on this year's Yunqi founders who made the list:

Junjie Yan (35), Founder and CEO of MiniMax

MiniMax (Xiyu Technology) was founded in 2021 and is now one of China's most competitive general-purpose AI large-model companies, with its most recent valuation exceeding $2.5 billion. Yan earned his PhD in 2015 from the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Before founding MiniMax, he held senior positions at SenseTime, including vice president, CTO of the Smart Cities Business Group, and deputy dean of the Research Institute. He believes AI's value lies in serving ordinary people, because the majority of society is made up of ordinary people. Real value means getting your product into the hands of as many ordinary people as possible.

Guang Zhou (38), Founder and CEO of DeepRoute

Zhou graduated from the Tsinghua University elite science program and later earned his PhD in artificial intelligence from the University of Texas. After graduating in 2016, he joined Baidu's autonomous driving division at its U.S. research institute, entering the self-driving industry. He founded DeepRoute in 2019; the company announced its $300 million Series B in September 2021. In 2024, Zhou declared Level 4 autonomous driving a false concept, but added: his vision is to build general artificial intelligence for the physical world, and vehicles are the only path to achieving it.

Wen Han (34), Founder, Chairman and CEO of Windrose Technology

Windrose Technology is China's first supplier of pure ground-up new energy intelligent heavy-duty truck solutions serving China, the U.S., Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, building zero-emission, cost-competitive intelligent electric heavy trucks for markets including China, the U.S., and Europe. Founder Wen Han graduated from Stanford University and previously worked at investment firms including Bridgewater Associates and GSR Ventures, and served as chief strategy officer and chief financial officer at Plus, an autonomous trucking company.