Global Young PhD Fellow applications remain open — here are answers to a few common questions about the program

Last week we launched recruitment for the Global Young PhD Fellow (GYPF), a program seeking outstanding technical founders from around the world.

Global Young PhD Fellow is a joint initiative by Linear Capital and Linear's portfolio companies, designed to build a rapid learning and exchange platform for young talent — both in China and abroad — who aspire to start technology ventures, are in the early stages of building one, or want to understand how China's best tech startups grow. Here, you'll get hard-hitting advice from deep-tech investors, have conversations with founders of China's top technology companies and hear about their successes and stumbles, connect with like-minded entrepreneurial peers, and even access Linear's startup funding. For full program details, please refer to this article.

We've received many questions about GYPF. Here are answers to some common ones:

1. Why launch GYPF? As a venture capital firm where every investment team member has a technical background, we understand what an open exchange platform means for technical professionals. We want to build a systematic support structure and a vibrant community of technical founders, helping them grow at the earliest stages and walking alongside them.

2. Do participants need to be actively founding a company or have a concrete startup idea? No — having entrepreneurial intent is sufficient.

3. Is there a fee to participate in GYPF? GYPF is completely free of charge.

4. What does participation look like? We host regular online entrepreneurship courses, all closed-door sessions exclusively for fellows. The program runs virtually, with no location restrictions — one session per month for twelve total, scheduled on weekends with timing coordinated across fellows' time zones.

Each fellow is matched with a personal mentor for 1:1 conversations. Fellows become part of Linear's founder community and can attend offline events in multiple regions globally.

5. How do I apply? Scan the QR code below to fill out the application questionnaire (estimated completion time: 15–20 minutes).

6. Other questions? Please email kezi@linear.vc

Deadline Applications close November 30, 2023 — less than a week remains. Don't let procrastination cost you this opportunity!

P.S.: The cover image was generated by Midjourney.

About Linear Capital

Linear Capital is an early-stage investment firm focused on "frontier technology + industry" — frontier technologies such as data intelligence, digital new infrastructure, next-generation robotics, and new technological transformations in traditional sectors (biomedicine, materials, energy, etc.), applied across vertical industries to dramatically improve efficiency, solve pain points, and enable industrial upgrading. We capture outsized commercial returns through substantial industrial value creation. We currently manage ten funds with approximately $2 billion in total AUM.

We typically lead seed to Series A rounds, with typical check sizes of $3–8 million or RMB equivalent.

Our early investments include Horizon Robotics, Kujiale, Sensors Data, Tezign, Rokid, Guandata, Agile Robots, and over 120 other entrepreneurial teams. The combined valuation of Linear's portfolio companies is approximately $20 billion.

In the near term, Linear Capital is working to become the premier Data Intelligence Technology Fund. Over the long term, we aim to build the most influential Frontier Technology Application Fund.