At the recently held 2026 SuperLink Investment Conference, Zero2IPO Holdings (01945.HK) Chairman and CEO Ni Zhengdong stated that China's venture capital market recovery has exceeded expectations, describing conditions as beyond mere warming. According to Zero2IPO Research Center, Q1 2026 fundraising grew over 80%, Q2 investment amounts are expected to surge significantly, and full-year exits are projected to achieve 100% to 200% growth compared to the previous year. Multiple frontline investors reported intense competition for deals, with some project valuations tripling within two months and capital highly concentrated in sectors aligned with national industrial policy. The acceleration follows China's 'Fifteenth Five-Year Plan' emphasis on frontier technologies and the establishment of large-scale government-backed funds at national and provincial levels, driving massive capital inflows into AI, robotics, quantum computing, controlled nuclear fusion, and brain-computer interfaces.
Investors Report Rapid Fundraising Pace and Valuation Surges
Daotong Investment founding managing partner Sun Qi described current investment tempo as "rapid and intense." He disclosed that from January to May, his firm invested in 15 projects, averaging three per month. Sun Qi cited one brain-computer interface project whose convertible note valuation tripled within two months before the previous round closed. He noted that many hard-tech projects now reject due diligence requirements, stating "no due diligence, take it or leave it," a phenomenon he said is becoming increasingly common. Sun Qi acknowledged that his team experiences FOMO (fear of missing out) emotions, stating "seeing other projects raise so much capital disrupts our focus."
Xiaomiao Langcheng managing partner Yang Haizhong characterized the past six months as "a roller coaster." He explained that projects unable to complete funding rounds for years have now achieved explosive, consecutive multi-round raises, describing the pattern as "normalized continuous financing" rather than discrete rounds, with substantial valuation increases. Youshan Investment chairman Chen Shiyou similarly observed accelerated deal velocity: "Previously we spent time on due diligence and verification. Now fundraising and investment speeds are extremely fast. If you're slightly slow, the round closes. Before entering the first round, the second and third rounds are already complete."
Ni Zhengdong: 90% of Capital Concentrated in Frontier Tech Sectors
Ni Zhengdong stated at the conference: "This year, 90% of primary market capital is concentrated in AI, robotics, world models, quantum technology, controlled nuclear fusion, integrated circuits, and commercial aerospace." He contrasted this with "somewhat cold" innovative drug investment and "even cooler" consumer investment. Yang Haizhong provided additional granularity, distinguishing between frontier technology innovation and applied technology innovation. He stated that "90%, even over 95% of capital flows into frontier technology fields," while large numbers of applied technology innovation projects remain in financing difficulty.
Yang Haizhong attributed the concentration to the 'Fifteenth Five-Year Plan' identifying six major future industries, prompting national and provincial governments to establish numerous 100-billion-RMB-scale mother funds, substantially increasing total available capital. He stated: "In very small subdivided fields like quantum, controlled nuclear fusion, and brain-computer interfaces — these assigned-topic frontier technology areas — regardless of the specific target, it will most likely receive market pursuit."
Ni Zhengdong observed that investors who had sought opportunities in the Middle East and Southeast Asia in previous years "have quietly returned to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong."
Industry Leaders Identify Future Opportunities in Embodied Intelligence and Quantum Computing
Dingxin Investment founding partner Wang Lin identified embodied intelligence as "already included in national future industry key layouts," calling it one of the highest-certainty directions. He stated that in just two to three years, the sector has completed the leap from prototype machines to industrial applications, progressing from initial demonstrations to real production scenarios.
Wang Lin also highlighted biomanufacturing as included in national future industry priorities but noted that capital market attention has not yet genuinely heated up. He stated current valuation ranges are mostly 10 to 20 times, making it a quality direction worth early positioning. Sun Qi disclosed that "last year we initiated and established a biomanufacturing fund, Shanghai's first biomanufacturing fund."
Multiple participants discussed quantum computing despite route uncertainty. Jiliang Guangqi founder Yu Wenlong stated that no one can answer which route will ultimately prevail, "even God wouldn't know." He suggested that future computing ecosystems will likely feature multiple quantum computers integrated with multiple classical computing types. Taiyi Quantum founder Fang Zhenghao backed the neutral atom route, which he believes has "the most potential for large-scale fault-tolerant computing." Fang Zhenghao stated: "I observed the quantum industry for six years. Last year I believed it reached an unprecedented resonance inflection point — the best timing for entrepreneurship."
Sun Qi described brain-computer interfaces as "currently exceptionally hot." Huaying Capital founding managing partner Ji Wei stated that her previous understanding of brain-computer interfaces was "narrowly focused on the medical field," but she later realized "brain-computer is essentially a combination of terminals, data, and algorithms. As brain-computer capabilities break through, there will be opportunities in wearable devices and new hardware types."
Nuanxinjia chairman Yang Jiawei presented latest clinical results in a keynote speech: a patient blind for 20 years could recognize complex letters on the second day after a high-resolution visual brain-computer interface was activated. Yang stated: "According to the patient's feedback, she can see very clear letters. She says her vision is definitely above 0.1, possibly 0.2 or 0.3."
Ji Wei stated that Huaying Capital retains its consumer team, noting "regardless of whether this major track is a primary market hotspot, it will always exist and have new opportunities." She expressed optimism for "AI + consumer" directions, such as consumer-grade devices that empower individuals with factory-level skills. Wang Lin stated: "Consumer is always the largest market, and improvement in living standards is essentially a process of continuous consumption upgrading. Now the entire hardware industry is welcoming an AI transformation wave. All hardware is worth redoing with AI."
Investors Debate Bubble Risks in Frontier Technology Valuations
Legend Capital managing partner Wang Guangxi stated that large amounts of quality resources densely entering future technology industries with rich imagination will bring price-value disconnection when overly concentrated, creating some bubble effects with both positive and negative macro implications. Wang Guangxi cautioned that some people underestimate the difficulty and timeline of technology industrialization. He contrasted internet businesses that could be "catalyzed by capital" and AI that can "accelerate very quickly with substantial capital inflows" with underlying sciences like quantum computing and controlled nuclear fusion, where "giving you ten times or a hundred times the money might only accelerate progress by 50%."
Wang Guangxi added: "If routes do not converge, there may be phased results, but without reaching an industry convergence state, it is difficult to generate large-scale commercial value. People need more patience on this matter."
Fang Zhenghao acknowledged "the current situation is relatively hot. I think there will be phased bubbles, but historically after every technology wave's bubble, you ultimately find that some world-class enterprises truly grow." He cited the 1999 dot-com bubble as reference: "The biggest bubble wasn't now — it was 1999's tech stock bubble. Over 95% of the world's internet companies went bankrupt, but ultimately companies like Google and Facebook emerged." Fang Zhenghao shared observations from the past year: 80% of investors have herd mentality, and some investors are highly enthusiastic about securitization and arbitrage exits but "not so concerned about what quantum computing can actually do, when it will create productivity, and how it will create productivity."
Chen Shiyou stated: "I think now is the best moment for Chinese investment" — the best moment from capital, entrepreneurship, and all aspects. She expressed hope to focus on enterprises addressing bottleneck technologies, supply chain strengthening and supplementing technologies, and companies focused on national strategic future industries. Regarding high early-stage valuations, Chen stated that although "valuations are flipping dramatically," she does not retreat, offering the solution: "Move toward earlier stages; later stages are too competitive."
Guo Houyang of Nova Fusion provided a specific commercialization timeline in his keynote speech. To meet AI computing power's exponential electricity demand growth, "the commercialization window for nuclear fusion has compressed from 30-50 years to 5-10 years." He claims a cost per kilowatt-hour below 0.1 RMB and disclosed that the company has completed angel and angel+ rounds totaling over 1.2 billion RMB, with shareholders including Alibaba and social security funds.
Bose Quantum founder Ma Yin directly rejected bubble concerns: "Quantum technology is productive force and must drive production relations transformation. The 'Fifteenth Five-Year Plan' lists it as the first of six major future industries. Now is just a small climax; there is still a phase before the final big wave."
FAQ
What did Zero2IPO report about China's Q1 2026 venture capital market?
According to Zero2IPO Research Center, Q1 2026 fundraising in China's private equity investment market grew over 80% compared to the previous period. Zero2IPO Chairman Ni Zhengdong stated at the 2026 SuperLink Investment Conference that the market recovery exceeded expectations and has moved beyond mere warming. The research center also projected that Q2 investment amounts will surge significantly and full-year exits will achieve 100% to 200% growth compared to the previous year.
Why is 90% of venture capital concentrated in frontier technology sectors?
Ni Zhengdong stated that 90% of primary market capital is concentrated in AI, robotics, world models, quantum technology, controlled nuclear fusion, integrated circuits, and commercial aerospace. Xiaomiao Langcheng managing partner Yang Haizhong attributed this concentration to China's 'Fifteenth Five-Year Plan' identifying six major future industries, which prompted national and provincial governments to establish numerous 100-billion-RMB-scale mother funds, substantially increasing total available capital and directing it toward policy-aligned frontier technology fields.
What clinical results did Nuanxinjia report for brain-computer interface technology?
Nuanxinjia chairman Yang Jiawei disclosed in his keynote speech that a patient who had been blind for 20 years could recognize complex letters on the second day after a high-resolution visual brain-computer interface was activated. According to Yang, the patient reported seeing very clear letters and estimated her restored vision at above 0.1, possibly reaching 0.2 or 0.3 levels.
