Moving Forward Together! Chen Yu Promoted to Managing Partner at Yunqi Capital | Yunqi Team

➤ ➤ A new year begins; we move forward anew.

On the first workday of 2026, we are delighted to share an important organizational evolution for the Yunqi Capital team: Partner Chen Yu has been promoted to Managing Partner.

Our heartfelt congratulations to Chen Yu! He is a Managing Partner who has grown up within Yunqi. His investing career began here — he joined the investment team when the fund was founded in 2014, and has participated in core decision-making as a Partner since 2021. He has been present for and witnessed Yunqi's entire journey, from early exploration and systematic positioning to the continuous iteration of our investment thesis, growing step by step into his new role. Chen Yu will continue to work alongside founding Managing Partners Mao Chengyu and Huang Yubin to lead the Yunqi team forward, moving with the times and growing toward the future!

Chen Yu (left), Mao Chengyu (center), and Huang Yubin (right) in 2017, at the Great Wall in Gubei Water Town

A former Google engineer and startup tech lead, Chen Yu has spent the past decade-plus at Yunqi deeply rooted in frontier technology sectors — open-source software, big data, robotics, autonomous driving, AI, and embodied intelligence. He maintains acute judgment on technology trends and founder potential, and excels at making forward-looking, long-term bets before industry consensus forms, shepherding technology and business models through cycles of continuous evolution.

Along the way, he has backed a portfolio of industry-leading technology companies including MiniMax, DeepRoute.ai, Neolix, PingCAP, Keenon Robotics, and X Variable Robotics — leading most of these at the angel round, with several now advancing toward IPO.

This promotion is not only continued recognition of Chen Yu's long-term commitment and expertise, but also an important step for Yunqi as we refine our partnership collaboration system for a new phase of growth. Here's to continuing forward together in 2026, and to becoming better all the time!

Messages from the Team

Mao Chengyu, Founding Managing Partner, Yunqi Capital

I first met Chen Yu in the summer of 2011. He was getting his MBA at the University of Chicago and came to IDG as a summer intern on my team. I had no idea it would become the starting point of more than a decade of close collaboration.

As I got to know him, I saw in him the makings of an excellent technology investor. He's exceptionally smart, of course, but what stood out was how his hardcore technical background combined with professional business training gave him both sensitivity to technology trends and sound judgment on business logic — a rare combination in VC at the time. More importantly, from the very beginning I sensed in this tech guy an almost "unreasonable" idealism — he genuinely believed technology should make the world better. In an industry that requires long-term conviction, that kind of idealism is extraordinarily rare.

I've always enjoyed working with smart people who share my values. So when Yubin and I founded Yunqi in 2014, it was natural to think of him. Looking back, bringing him on was absolutely the right call. Over the past decade-plus, his passion and judgment for technology development, his deep empathy for technical founders, and his consistent dedication and efficiency have only strengthened Yunqi's distinctive expertise in technology investing. Through hundreds of projects, he has grown from that VC novice intern into one of the industry's most influential technology investors. Today's promotion to Managing Partner feels both well-earned and deeply gratifying.

Looking ahead, technology investing is becoming ever more central to this industry. I hope Chen Yu keeps the same enthusiasm and energy he had as that engineering student fifteen years ago. Together, we'll continue leading the Yunqi team to navigate the vast ocean of technology investing with steadiness and vision.

Huang Yubin, Founding Managing Partner, Yunqi Capital

I've been investing for 26 years, and I know well that technology investing is no easy task — it demands understanding complexity while resisting noise. Chen Yu has always excelled at this: he doesn't follow blindly, doesn't waver, has patience for the technology paths he truly believes in, and is willing to accompany them for the long haul.

I think this comes from both his solid technical foundation and the sense of purity he has always maintained toward technology investing itself. In my eyes, this is the most precious thing about him. Looking back, when Michael and I invited him to join Yunqi, it was "the first and most successful investment" we ever made.

It's been wonderful growing alongside this tech guy who loves cartoon T-shirts over the past decade-plus. I hope Chen Yu maintains his curiosity and passion for technology, and like his beloved Doraemon, keeps pulling magical "gadgets" from his pocket to help the Yunqi team do technology investing even better.

:)

The future is already ahead of us

We look forward to the partnership team leading Yunqi's team

To explore infinite possibilities together

2026: The Yunqi partnership squad, facing the future (with wild imagination). (AI-generated)