Xi Cao
曹曦
Xi Cao is a founding partner of Monolith Management (砺思资本), the VC firm he launched after being recognized as one of China's most prominent younger-generation investors . He previously appeared on 36Kr's "36Under36" list of rising investors before starting his own fund in 2021 . His early bets on Kuaishou and Unitree earned him a No. 39 ranking on Forbes' Midas List of global venture capitalists . At Monolith, he has backed AI companies including Moonshot AI and Taichi Graphics, typically writing checks of $3–15 million . As 暗涌Waves observed, after becoming a founder himself Cao "became more calculating" — once enthusiastically pitching two early-stage deals to an LP for a combined total of only $4–5 million, and hunting for cheaper connecting flights through Shenzhen .
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Coverage
Vibe Coding Should Start From Childhood
A new generation is already entering elsewhere.
elsewhere别处发生·2026 VC Promotion Roundup
Universal celebration.
elsewhere别处发生·Dancing with Love, Zhang Huaiting: Staying a Calm "Value Builder" Amid the AI Hype
Make decisions toward your goals, not away from your difficulties.
真格基金·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?
elsewhere别处发生·I think the sun will shine bright tomorrow morning | Opening Remarks
Maybe wrong, always fun.
elsewhere别处发生·Hypershell Closes Two Rounds Totaling $70 Million in Funding
Toward a Future Where Everyone Is "Iron Man"?
暗涌Waves·Four years after its last close, Source Code Capital has raised another fund.
Dual-currency, $600 million.
暗涌Waves·Monolith Raises $488 Million in New Funding
Assets under management exceed 10 billion RMB.
暗涌Waves·When the investors of Ning Wang, Xingxing Wang, and Junjie Zhang sat down together
What makes a "newly made person" new?
暗涌Waves·No matter how the world changes, *Dark Tide* turns three.
Before the sun rises, Anyong will keep searching for answers alongside all of you.
暗涌Waves·Looking Back at 2023: The World Has Really Changed
These people and events reshaped 2023 — and will shape the years ahead.
暗涌Waves·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.
暗涌Waves·Xi Cao of Lisi Capital and His Eleven Luo Han --- Wait — let me reconsider. "十一罗汉" is almost certainly a reference to *Ocean's Eleven* (the film), used here as a playful nickname for his team. Let me adjust: Xi Cao of Lisi Capital and His Ocean's Eleven
Starting a business is like climbing a mountain — the meaning lies in the climb itself.
暗涌Waves·"You're only 36. You can be anyone you want to be."
Never stop moving forward.
暗涌Waves·From the Big League to the Niche: The Glory Days of a Generation of Chinese VCs
How they will rethink fame, cycles, and investment.
暗涌Waves·
