Qiming Venture Partners' Alex Zhou: From Founding Investor to IPO Cornerstone, Firmly Believing in Biren Technology's Ability to Navigate Long Cycles

According to IPO Zaozhidao, Biren Technology (hereinafter referred to as "Biren Technology") officially listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 2, 2026, under the stock code "6082," becoming the "first GPU stock in Hong Kong."

Since its founding, Biren Technology has assembled a prestigious investor lineup encompassing top-tier financial institutions, diversified industrial capital, semiconductor-focused funds, and renowned state-backed investment platforms.

Among them, Qiming Venture Partners stands as one of Biren Technology's earliest and most steadfast supporters. When Biren Technology was founded in 2019, Qiming Venture Partners served as a founding investor, leading the company's first funding round and continuing to support its growth in subsequent rounds. Qiming Venture Partners is not only the company's largest external institutional investor but also one of its senior independent investors.

Alex Zhou, Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, stated: "As a founding investor in Biren Technology's first round, we are thrilled to have walked this journey together and witnessed this important milestone of the company's successful listing. From its inception, Biren Technology chose an immensely challenging yet profoundly meaningful path — building high-performance general-purpose GPUs through sustained technological innovation. Biren Technology's successful listing marks not only a critical juncture in the company's own development but also validates that the theme of Chinese tech entrepreneurship is gradually advancing toward a new stage centered on original technological innovation. The IPO is a阶段性 achievement and even more so the starting point of a new journey. We look forward to Biren Technology continuing to deepen its technological innovation and playing an even more significant role in building China's and the global AI ecosystem."

Alex Zhou, Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners

01/

First Investment as a Founding Investor

Admiring Wen Zhang's Ability to "Gather People" and "Get Things Done"

Zhou recalled that he and Wen Zhang (founder, Chairman, and CEO of Biren Technology) were alumni of Columbia University and had known each other in AI investment circles for some time without deep interaction.

It wasn't until mid-June 2019, over breakfast in Beijing, that Wen Zhang shared with Zhou his concept for building a GPGPU chip. From June through the end of 2019, the two maintained intensive discussions.

Little known is that Biren Technology's project had already passed Qiming Venture Partners' investment committee by July 2019, with the company formally registered on September 9 of that year.

"This is the first company in my personal career where I invested as a founding investor. Most venture capital investments happen during a company's 0-to-1 development phase, but this one started at -0.1, before zero, when the investment decision was made," Zhou reflected. "I looked back at the original committee materials — the company didn't even have a name yet; it was called Project Alpha. The investment thesis page was rather 'sentimental,' listing 'right timing,' 'right place,' and 'right people.'"

Zhou elaborated: "Right timing" meant that the evolution of AI technology and industry would inevitably generate massive demand for computing power; "right place" recognized that China would be the largest user of AI technology and AI computing power, creating uniquely favorable conditions for Chinese AI chip companies to understand user needs and find innovative testing grounds; "right people" reflected confidence in the team's capabilities.

"At that time, 99% of semiconductor startups followed the 'old master with apprentices and grand-disciples' model, but we believed that 'big chips' like GPUs required excellence across the board with no weak links. Teams led by old masters were better suited for 'small chips.' Wen Zhang was not an 'old master' of the semiconductor industry; we felt he was more of a 'strategist,' capable of bringing together the best talent from all backgrounds without sectarian bias, getting the big direction right, making major strategic judgments, and raising the enormous R&D funding the company needed. Such a leader's background was better suited for 'big chip' entrepreneurship."

Zhou pointed out that Wen Zhang's "ability to gather people" and "capacity to get things done" were the two qualities most admired by the Qiming Venture Partners team.

The ability to gather people. "Early on, he showed me a target list of founding team members, about ten people, all top-tier industry talents. I told him if he could recruit even one-third or half of them, I would be more than satisfied — that would make China's strongest GPU team. In the end, 100% of the people on that list joined, plus several additional ones we hadn't dared to hope for. At the beginning of 2020, he persuaded several top talents from Silicon Valley to relocate their entire families back to Shanghai — an enormous challenge. This ability to gather people is rarely seen in my investment career."

The capacity to get things done. "At the very beginning of the venture, he proactively declared that he would take zero salary, would set up a large option pool, and could even openly discuss finding more suitable talent to serve as Biren Technology's CEO. Through such actions and格局, at a time when semiconductor industry compensation was rising most dramatically, he convinced the team to give up the stability of major tech companies, accept modest salaries, and commit to this journey with him. Biren Technology's team was a gathering of 'veteran masters' from day one, truly achieving 'the gods taking their rightful places.' The team culture is remarkably open, with each member being a long player in their respective domain, bringing together the industry's finest; and over the past five to six years, they have continued to attract even more top-tier talent."

Additionally, Zhou candidly shared what impressed him most — at the end of March 2022, when Biren Technology's first chip, the BR100, returned from tape-out but was held up at Pudong Airport. Wen Zhang acted decisively, taking personal measures to retrieve the chip; meanwhile, dozens of other co-founders and core team members stayed at the company, sleeping on the floor continuously for 30 to 40 days. "Once I called a senior executive — at that moment, all I could offer was a bit of emotional support, and he simply said, 'I'm doing laundry in the company restroom right now.' I was deeply moved in that moment, truly feeling the team's fighting spirit. Later, when the chip successfully powered on, we met and drank heartily, embracing and weeping. This all-in commitment, treating product innovation as the top priority, commands my genuine admiration."

02/

Qiming Venture Partners Helped Biren Technology "Find Money, Find People, Find Direction"

Firmly Believing Biren Technology Can Become One of the Core Leaders in the Global Market

From before the formal investment through the years following, Qiming Venture Partners' front, middle, and back office teams empowered Biren Technology's development across multiple dimensions — whether in the early stages of "finding people, finding money, finding direction" or in the long-term role of "co-pilot."

On finding people. From co-founders to multiple VP-level and above core managers, Zhou was deeply involved in interviews and recruitment. "Sometimes I would serve as a 'persuader,' interpreting from an investor's perspective why joining Biren Technology meant participating in a great cause. The most proactive experience was when we determined that Biren Technology's management team urgently needed someone who could bridge levels — possessing both top-level strategic thinking and the chief engineer's coordinating ability to fully understand everything from system architecture and chip design to engineering implementation and manufacturing supply chain. I immediately thought of Xinrong Li, then AMD's Global Vice President. I then took the lead in making the connection, first speaking with him and Wen Zhang individually, then expanding to Biren Technology's entire co-founder and senior executive team. We sat together for tea and meals multiple times, having deep conversations, and after several exchanges, he ultimately joined Biren Technology resolutely."

On finding money. As a founding investor, understanding Qiming Venture Partners' perspective on a company becomes part of due diligence for subsequent-round investors. "In the third and fourth funding rounds, I often played this role: candidly sharing views on Biren Technology with institutions like IDG Capital and Hillhouse. Of course, the core credit for successful fundraising undoubtedly belongs to Wen Zhang and the Biren Technology team."

On finding direction. In the six months around Biren Technology's founding, the Qiming Venture Partners team participated in many strategic discussions with the Biren Technology team. "For example, whether to do GPGPU or DSA (Domain-Specific Architecture); whether to completely follow the direction led by giants, or to pursue our own innovative architecture? These discussions happened many times because there was no market consensus. As a participant, I greatly admired Wen Zhang's final decision and the team's spirit of daring to innovate — they ultimately decided to do GPGPU and created a proprietary architecture. At subsequent conferences, Biren Technology was also the only Chinese startup compared directly with world GPU giants."

"Wen Zhang's abilities to 'gather people' and 'get things done' far exceeded expectations. The team dared to make the hardest choice on technical direction (GPGPU + proprietary architecture) and demonstrated astonishing resilience and execution under extreme difficulties (such as during the 2022 lockdown), successfully powering on their first chip. These moments, big and small, showed us that this team could not only 'gather' but also 'fight,' with the ability to endure long cycles and respond to enormous challenges. Therefore, from the first round through post-Series C additions, to serving as a cornerstone investor in this IPO, our increased commitment was based on long-term, unwavering confidence in this team," Zhou said.

Speaking of expectations for Biren Technology after listing, Zhou believes that while the IPO is a very important milestone, it is absolutely not an endpoint.

"Like climbing a mountain, through the IPO we've proven we've taken a solid step, summited one peak, but there are still many goals to challenge and strive for ahead — more difficult paths and greater challenges await Biren Technology in the future. I hope that with the backing of the capital market and better financing channels, Biren Technology can use the raised funds to recruit even better talent, and even through some mergers and integrations, continue moving forward in the coming market competition," Zhou added. "Looking back at NVIDIA's development, it wasn't the industry leader when it IPO'd in 1999; it was through precise strategic positioning and sustained product breakthroughs in the crucial four to five years after listing that it truly grew into an industry giant. The industry will inevitably undergo a round of deep consolidation, and I look forward to Biren Technology establishing itself firmly and growing into one of the core leaders in this vast arena, whether in China or globally."

Undeniably, chips are a long slope with deep snow. Zhou emphasized that Biren Technology's value lies in "daring to innovate" — first, they chose to do GPGPU rather than DSA; second, within GPGPU they developed their own innovative architecture; third, they were among the earliest in China and globally to adopt chiplet packaging technology. "This courage to pursue originality and truly realize it is Biren Technology's core value. As the new wave of AI arrives, Biren Technology needs to continue focusing on technological innovation and productization, transforming architectural advantages into solutions that are easier and more practical for customers to use, truly integrating into the AI computing ecosystem."

03/

Adhering to the "Half-Step-Ahead Investment Method" and "Learning from History"

Consistently Playing the "Co-Pilot" Role for Innovative Tech Enterprises

To some extent, the Biren Technology project also reflects Qiming Venture Partners' methodology and self-positioning when investing in "reach-for-the-stars" innovative tech enterprises.

On one hand, Qiming Venture Partners has consistently emphasized internally the "half-step-ahead investment method" — that is, finding the most promising and capable teams half a step before the big wave arrives and supporting them unwaveringly.

"We won't invest too early before the wave comes, nor will we follow trends after the wave has fully risen. We want to seize the moment, half a step before the big wave arrives, to find and support the most promising teams. The investment in Biren Technology is an example — AI chip investment was already heating up in 2019, but based on our unique insight that 'big chips need strategists,' we placed our bet when the market hadn't yet fully understood this model."

Of course, this also requires the Qiming Venture Partners team to maintain independent thinking and not chase market noise. "We continuously analyze cases like Biren Technology to observe and find the optimal methods for tech investing — this is an ongoing challenge. We see that about 85% of capital now flows into tech innovation; there are more opportunities, but it also demands stronger discernment from us to distinguish true innovation that can advance into the future."

Meanwhile, Zhou is also deeply committed to "learning from history." "I myself am a heavy enthusiast of tech history. I've studied NVIDIA's development history — founded in 1993, IPO'd in 1999, with over 20 graphics card companies in the U.S. market alone at the time; it ranked between third and fifth when it listed, only becoming a giant through product innovation in the crucial years after listing. I also know that at the peak of Silicon Valley's graphics accelerator card boom, over 90 companies competed. This history keeps us sober when facing China's GPU investment fever, knowing that both boom and consolidation are inevitable processes."

On the other hand, from Biren Technology's founding to today's successful IPO, Qiming Venture Partners has consistently played the role of "advisor" to the team of entrepreneurs.

"We always say internally 'help without causing trouble.' For example, at a certain stage we realized that Biren Technology's entire management team needed someone who could bridge levels, and later we sought this out for them, finding that Xinrong Li was the most suitable person, and we went all-in to help with this. We can't do 'sending charcoal in snowy weather' kinds of things; we're more 'adding flowers to brocade.' As founding investors, from the company's '-0.1' to '0' stage, we participated in many strategic discussions, but our role was 'participant' and 'discussion partner,' offering our perspectives and suggestions, such as in the debate over GPGPU versus DSA." Zhou stated: "We ensure these discussions are constructive, with final decisions made by the founder. We're like the 'co-pilot,' helping to watch the road and navigate, but the steering wheel remains in the founder's hands."

Source | IPO Zaozhidao

Author | Stone Jin

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Previous Reviews

Qiming Perspectives | Alex Zhou, Qiming Venture Partners: Advancing China's Tech Innovation Through Investment Dialogue | Biren Technology: High-Performance General-Purpose GPUs Powering China's Large Model Training and Inference | World Artificial Intelligence Conference Qiming Honors | 5 Qiming Venture Partners Investors Named to 2025 Forbes China Midas List

Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its establishment, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding enterprises in the early and growth stages of Technology and Healthcare innovation.

To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through mergers and acquisitions, with over 80 companies recognized as unicorns or super-unicorns in their respective industries.

Many of Qiming Venture Partners' portfolio companies have grown into the most influential companies in their fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE:ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), Hesai Technology (NASDAQ:HSAI, 02525.HK), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD, 00800.HK), HyperStrong (688411.SH), Insta360 (688775.SH), Unisound (09678.HK), Biren Technology (06082.HK), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), MicroPort EP MedTech (688617.SH), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), SinoCellTech (688520.SH), Insilico Medicine (03696.HK), Hope Medicine, Yuanxin Technology, MediLink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, Zhipu AI, StepFun, and others.