Yi Cao
曹毅
Yi Cao is the founder and founding partner of Source Code Capital (源码资本), one of China's prominent VC 2.0 firms established in 2014 . He is frequently described in the Chinese investment world as a former Sequoia China VP who broke out to build his own shop, though by 2022 commentators noted he was no longer simply annotated as "that impressive former Sequoia VP" but recognized for the institution he built .
Source Code Capital under Cao raised over RMB 7 billion in a widely watched funding round in 2021 , and as of late 2025 had launched a new growth fund product with a 25-year lifespan — five years investment period plus twenty years exit period — designed around AI and globalization themes . Cao has maintained a notably close relationship with ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming: his first investment after founding Source Code was $5 million into ByteDance, and Zhang later became a personal LP in Cao's fund .
In mid-2024, Cao oversaw a structural split at Source Code, with partner Yungang Huang taking independent control of the early-stage venture fund rebranded as "Source Code Rhythm" (源码律动), while Cao retained leadership of the growth-stage fund and broader operations including portfolio services and exits . Cao articulated his investment philosophy concisely as "高度优于宽度" — height over breadth .
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Coverage
Source Code Rhythm has raised over $150 million for its first fund and has launched RMB fund fundraising.
Another oversubscribed early-stage USD fund.
暗涌Waves·The First USD VC Fund to Close in 2026
What comes after Aksu. *(Note: "阿克苏之后的故事" literally means "the story after Aksu." If this refers to a specific title or context I'm missing — such as a book, film, or article — please provide more details and I can refine the translation.)*
elsewhere别处发生·Vol.003 | In Conversation with Huang Yungang: From Moving Bricks in Xinjiang to VC — My Folded Life
elsewhere别处发生·Four years after its last close, Source Code Capital has raised another fund.
Dual-currency, $600 million.
暗涌Waves·The VC 2.0 generation celebrated its tenth birthday in early autumn.
What about the next decade?
暗涌Waves·Exclusive | Yungang Huang and Source Code's New VC: Back to Classic Playbook
Back to the classic VC playbook of "a pizza is all it takes."
暗涌Waves·The Day Munger Died: 18 WeChat Moments About Him
Mourning the Passing of a Wise Mind
暗涌Waves·"You're only 36. You can be anyone you want to be."
Never stop moving forward.
暗涌Waves·Exclusive | Source Code Capital, ZhenFund Confirmed to Join In — Wang Huiwen's "Chinese OpenAI" Is Being Scrambled For
China's investment world seems to have gone back to 2016 overnight.
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·Two Decades of RMB Funds: Between Life and Death
Are USD Funds in Trouble? Is It the RMB Funds' Turn to Make a Move?
暗涌Waves·
