Xi Cao
曹曦
Xi Cao is the founding partner of Monolith砺思资本, a venture capital firm he co-founded in 2021 with former Boyu Capital secondary-market partner Tim Wang after departing Sequoia China, where he had been the youngest and fastest-promoted partner in the firm's history . At Monolith, which operates across both primary and secondary markets, Cao has built an early-stage portfolio concentrated in AI and robotics, including Moonshot AI, Unitree, and Infinigence AI . His early bet on Kuaishou—originating from a 2014 conversation with co-founder Su Hua in a Beijing café—proved pivotal when the short-video platform listed in 2021 at a valuation exceeding $200 billion . Cao ranked 39th on the Forbes 2025 Midas List, recognition driven by these early investments in Kuaishou and Unitree . Colleagues describe him as possessing unusual openness and empathy, with a decision-making style that has shifted toward greater capital discipline since founding his own firm .
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Coverage
Unitree Funding Story Exhibition
Ancient stories always carry a special kind of allure.
AI Matchmaker: A Conversation with Zeng Xinxun, Founder of Liangpei, on AI-Powered Dating
Former Moonshot AI Search Tech Lead's Dimensionality-Reduction Overhaul of Dating Matchmaking
Vivix: Starting from a Place Where No One Believed
The scaling of real-time interactive models hasn't really begun yet.
Meshy Closes Nearly $400 Million Funding Round, Expanding From AI 3D to AI for Fun
A system capable of producing content sustainably
The DeepSeek Financing Story
"The world was always meant to be this way."
I'm off to a portfolio company, bye.
We all have a bright future ahead of us.
Monolith's Xi Cao Named to Forbes 2026 Midas List
Made the list for two consecutive years on the strength of investments in MetaX, Unitree, and other companies.
The Unforgettable Series C Funding of Moonshot AI
A stroke of genius.
Immortality: Starting with Dogs
Death is not an inevitable law of nature — just an engineering problem.
Metis Pharmaceuticals lists today, marking Monolith's first HKEX IPO
The scientist who pitched in a KFC just went public today.
Tiangong Kaiwu: The Fifth Paradigm
A Material, An Industry
Vibe Coding Should Start From Childhood
A new generation is already entering elsewhere.
2026 VC Promotion Roundup
Universal celebration.
Dancing with Love, Zhang Huaiting: Staying a Calm "Value Builder" Amid the AI Hype
Make decisions toward your goals, not away from your difficulties.
A Conversation with Huaiting Zhang of Yuaiweiwu: The Veteran Founder Who Doesn't Take Detours | BlueRun Ventures Family Spotlight
"Founders never truly fail."
The Fundraising Stories of China's "Six Little Tigers": Six Paths, Six Lives
If Kimi ever goes public, will the bell-ringing photo look very different?
Where Did the Money Go? Who's Still Writing Checks? A 2025 VC Debrief With Jing Liu
VC takes a certain amount of instinct.
Monolith Portfolio Company MetaX Lists on STAR Market
We have deep conviction in both the explosive growth potential and long-term staying power of China's domestic computing power market.
Entrepreneurship Is the Most Hardcore Way for Young People to Change the World | Mono X Campus
Be a long-term partner to founders, not a short-term "referee."
I think the sun will shine bright tomorrow morning | Opening Remarks
Maybe wrong, always fun.
Hypershell Raises $70 Million Across Two Funding Rounds
Empower people to act, and expand the horizons of their world.
Hypershell Closes Two Rounds Totaling $70 Million in Funding
Toward a Future Where Everyone Is "Iron Man"?
Four years after its last close, Source Code Capital has raised another fund.
Dual-currency, $600 million.
Monolith Raises $488 Million in New Funding
Assets under management exceed 10 billion RMB.
Monolith portfolio company MetaX Technology passes IPO review on STAR Market
A landmark event in the capitalization of China's domestic GPU industry
The SpaceX of Pharma: Caida Lai's Nanorocket
Only those with fire in their eyes can build rockets.
The AI Investment Mid-Game: Talent Wars, Faith Divides, and Super Opportunities
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The Future Never Favors the Spectator | Monolith Monthly
Document every step forward.
When the investors of Ning Wang, Xingxing Wang, and Junjie Zhang sat down together
What makes a "newly made person" new?
The Wind Still Howls Where No One Stands | Monolith Monthly
Every step is worth recording.
Xi Cao of Monolith Named to Forbes 2025 Midas List
First-time appearance on the list thanks to early-stage investments in Kuaishou and Unitree
No matter how the world changes, *Dark Tide* turns three.
Before the sun rises, Anyong will keep searching for answers alongside all of you.
Lxson Raises Nearly RMB 200 Million in Angel Round, Co-Invested by Monolith
Embrace the best technology and the best partners
A Conversation with Li Xiang: Throwing Questions at Someone Who's Always Asking
Reflections of a Lifelong Business Journalist
He opened up America with a streak of blue.
Chatting with Shengle Wang About Pool Robots, the US Market, and *Hillbilly Elegy*
A Conversation with Liu Zhiyu: Artificial Intelligence Can Attain Enlightenment Too
The rarest thing in this world is authenticity.
Zhilin Yang: Innovation, Long-Term Thinking, First Principles
I'll see you on the other side of the moon.
Looking Back at 2023: The World Has Really Changed
These people and events reshaped 2023 — and will shape the years ahead.
GravityXR has completed a Series A financing round of several hundred million RMB, led by Lisi Capital.
A Complete Transformation of Future Human-Computer Interaction
Moonshot AI Kicks Off the "Long-Context Era" for 100-Billion-Parameter Models
A 100-billion-parameter LLM product that supports 200,000-word context windows
Li Guofei's 10,000-Word Interview: Seeking Wisdom Is About Constantly Breaking the Prison of the Mind
Two worlds that seem to have nothing to do with each other may, at their foundations, arrive at the same destination by different paths.
Entrepreneurship is a climb where the journey itself is the reward.
The journey is the reward.
Monolith's Xi Cao and His Eleven Musketeers
Starting a business is like climbing a mountain — the meaning lies in the climb itself.
MONOLITH砺思资本｜Riding with Great Tech Companies
Think to know, and temper through action.
"You're only 36. You can be anyone you want to be."
Never stop moving forward.
Monolith Capital, alongside great technology companies
Monolith is an investment management firm co-founded in 2021 by Xi Cao, formerly a partner at Sequoia China, and Tim Wang, formerly a partner in the public markets team at Boyu Capital. Monolith covers both private and public markets, including its current VC fund and a previously high-performing debut hedge fund. **Monolith's assets under management have reached nearly $800 million.**
20+ Frontier Tech Companies Visit BYD to Discuss Opportunities in the New Energy Vehicle Second Half | Ronghui
How cutting-edge technologies can help industries upgrade together for mutual benefit.
From the Big League to the Niche: The Glory Days of a Generation of Chinese VCs
How they will rethink fame, cycles, and investment.
