Multiple founders and executives from Linear Capital's portfolio companies have been selected for 36Kr's "X·36Under36" list.

On the evening of June 9, 36Kr unveiled the "X·36Under36 S-Class Young Entrepreneurs List." This marks the sixth year of 36Kr's "36 Under 36" series. Unlike previous editions, this year's program has been upgraded to the "X·36Under36 S-Class Young Entrepreneurs List," with the goal of identifying China's potentially great entrepreneurs at an earlier stage. Among the honorees, 13 founders and executives from Linear Capital portfolio companies were selected.

In 36Kr's view, when the "36 Under 36" initiative launched six years ago, the first cohort of post-80s entrepreneurs was approaching the age of 36. They were largely the first generation of young people to come of age as China transitioned from a planned economy to a market economy. Their entrepreneurial journeys, and the ways they acquired wealth and recognition, bore strong imprints of their era: most grew up in ordinary families, started from nothing, and their companies' growth was often accompanied by significant controversy.

Six years later, a new generation of entrepreneurs has emerged. Today's founders — born in the late 1980s and even mid-1990s — typically grew up in materially more abundant, culturally more diverse environments where commercial civilization was more readily accepted. But the new challenge they face is this: the era's low-hanging fruit has been exhausted. And among the more than 1,000 entrepreneurs under 36 covered in this year's survey, 28% founded their companies after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 — a problem that extends beyond business yet no one can afford to ignore.

It's also worth noting that among the 1,000-plus entrepreneurs surveyed, 73% have technical backgrounds. China's engineer dividend and scientist dividend are crossing a critical threshold.**

Linear Capital, which has consistently focused on technology investment, will continue to stand alongside outstanding technical entrepreneurs. Below is the list of Linear Capital portfolio company founders and executives selected for this year's "X·36Under36 S-Class Young Entrepreneurs List":

Lan Song — Founder and CEO, Ruichu Technology

Meng Hao — Founder and CEO, Boundary Robotics

Chen Peng — CTO, Xinkong Intelligent

Lyu Feng — CEO, Jexiang Lingyue

Fangbo Tao — CEO, Mindverse

Shi Jicheng — Co-founder, DatenLord

Xie Chen — Founder and CEO, Douxiang Technology

Zhou Yuan — Co-founder and Chief Data Scientist, Guandata

Lu Jiheng — Co-founder and CEO, Zilliz

Wang Zhe — Co-founder and CTO, Tezign

Wang Xianfeng — CEO, Bao Xiaohe

Fu Lili — Co-founder and VP of Engineering, Sensors Data

Ye Shenghu — Founder and CEO, Whale

About Linear Capital

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Linear Capital is a professional investment firm focused on "Data Intelligence" and "Frontier Technology."

Linear Capital currently manages ten funds with total assets under management of approximately US$2 billion.

We focus on early-stage projects in "Data Application," "Data Infrastructure," and "Frontier Technology" application areas. We typically lead investments from angel through Series A, with typical check sizes of US$3-8 million or RMB equivalent.

To date, we have made early-stage investments in more than 80 teams, including Horizon Robotics (US$3B valuation), Tongdun (>$1B), Kujiale (>$1B), Sensors Data, Tezign, Rokid, Guandata, Agile Robots, and others. The combined valuation of Linear Capital's portfolio companies is approximately US$15 billion.

In the near term, Linear Capital is working to become the premier "Data Intelligence Technology Fund," and over the long term, to build itself into the most influential "Frontier Technology Application Fund."