A Conversation with ZhenFund Partner Yuan Liu: One Week with Manus, Ten Years with Red Xiao

This is a special crossover episode between "此话当真" (Seriously Speaking) and "elsewhere 别处发生." Yuan Liu of ZhenFund and Jing Liu of elsewhere have known each other for years. This time, they look back on the decade-long journey they've traveled, the emotions along the way, and the stories of ZhenFund's partnership with Manus's Red Xiao.

2025 is a year of profound significance for Yuan Liu — it marks ten years of Yuan Liu and ZhenFund accompanying Manus. From that Huazhong University of Science and Technology student at a 2016 hackathon, through several pivots to Weiban, Benchling, and Monica, Yuan Liu saw an entrepreneur from Wuhan trying and failing, again and again. And he simply walked alongside the Manus team through those years — crying, laughing, and seeing each other at their most vulnerable.

This was also Yuan Liu's own decade. From arriving in Beijing alone to where things stand today, much has changed. But the drive to seek out and accompany more exceptional early-stage founders has never wavered.

In this episode, you'll hear the most complete Manus story told to date, Yuan Liu and Red Xiao's near-decade-long marathon, and an inner world that few investors would openly confess.

Part 1: Not a Premeditated Spectacle 00:05:51 March 5: the full story of Manus's launch 00:19:09 The system couldn't handle too many users, so invite codes got scalped to 100,000 RMB 00:19:55 Never deliberately tried to ride DeepSeek's wave 00:21:12 Maintaining a steep growth curve isn't realistic

Part 2: Every Fairy Tale Has an Ending 00:23:49 Red Xiao was never a founder for whom everything went smoothly 00:28:57 The emotional need to defend yourself, but the company doesn't need that 00:31:35 Receiving feedback from Silicon Valley, one email at a time

Part 3: The Bullet Fired Nine Years Ago 00:34:37 Manus's one week, Yuan Liu and Red Xiao's ten years 00:36:53 Of the hundred-plus companies he's invested in, Red Xiao is a particularly special person 00:39:46 Three product names: Nightingale, Monica, Manus 00:41:57 Do product names affect how investors perceive founders? 00:43:24 Why has Red Xiao's fundraising always been difficult? 00:46:11 In the decade before Manus, Red Xiao had plenty of painful moments too 00:56:07 A product that's interesting and different 01:03:31 Manus reaffirmed ZhenFund's path for itself: "invest in people"

Part 4: Eleven Years at ZhenFund 01:07:43 Information democratization has lowered the technical barrier to starting up, but courage and resolve still matter 01:12:46 Once wanted a single investment to prove himself 01:15:43 The long WeChat message to Bob Xu 01:27:24 A cultural DNA that resonated with ZhenFund, perhaps destined to choose it 01:29:06 Staying at ZhenFund for ten years to become partner, maintaining a sense of peace in life 01:35:26 How to maintain a sense of youthfulness and curiosity 01:37:59 When evaluating an investor, how to capture what makes them different 01:44:32 What the past decade has given, and what it has taken away

From 5 Investments in Manus's Red Xiao: A Startup Marathon Still in Progress

The Suicide of a Top-Tier VC

To the Younger Ones

"Seriously Speaking" is a general business podcast produced by ZhenFund, where the ZhenFund investment team will share the latest hot topics and industry insights with leading figures across various fields.

Founded in 2011, ZhenFund is one of China's earliest angel investment institutions. Since its inception, ZhenFund has been actively seeking out the most outstanding entrepreneurial teams and era-defining investment opportunities in artificial intelligence, chips and semiconductors, robotics and hardware, healthcare, enterprise services, new energy, cross-border expansion, consumer lifestyle, and other sectors.

ZhenFund — your first stop on the entrepreneurial journey!