Key Takeaways
- • Hu Qi, Executive Director at Qiming Venture Partners, has maintained decade-long focus on AI investment, transitioning from AI algorithm engineering with a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence to full-time venture capital deployment in the sector.
- • Qiming Venture Partners manages $9.5 billion in assets across eleven U.S. dollar funds and seven RMB funds, with the firm having invested in over 100 AI projects spanning from AI 1.0 to AI 2.0 phases and achieving five AI-related IPOs.
- • The firm initiated its AI investment thesis in 2013, positioning itself as one of China's earliest institutional backers of artificial intelligence technology before the sector achieved mainstream prominence.
- • Qiming recently filed to raise $600 million for its ninth flagship fund, targeting deployment across AI, technology, and healthcare sectors, reflecting continued institutional confidence in the venture capital landscape.
- • AI has transitioned from niche technological concept to mainstream consensus within Chinese venture capital and entrepreneurship, with hard-tech ventures now representing a central investment thesis rather than peripheral opportunity.
Summary
Hu Qi's career trajectory exemplifies the intersection of technical expertise and venture capital specialization within China's AI investment ecosystem. As Executive Director at Qiming Venture Partners, Qi brings a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence coupled with approximately a decade of continuous engagement in the AI sector—initially as an algorithm engineer and subsequently as a dedicated venture investor. This longitudinal commitment to a single technical domain positions him within a cohort of specialists who recognized AI's structural importance prior to the sector's recent acceleration into mainstream recognition.
Qiming Venture Partners, managing $9.5 billion in aggregate capital across eleven dollar-denominated and seven RMB-denominated funds, has established itself as one of China's most active institutional investors in artificial intelligence. The firm's investment portfolio spans the complete AI industry value chain, encompassing over 100 projects across both earlier (AI 1.0) and contemporary (AI 2.0) technological generations. The firm's track record includes five AI-related initial public offerings, representing meaningful exit velocity and validation of its investment selection methodology. Notably, Qiming commenced its systematic AI investment focus in 2013, well before widespread institutional adoption of frontier technology investment mandates.
Recent fundraising activity underscores continued institutional capital deployment momentum. Qiming's filing to raise $600 million for its ninth flagship fund targets investment across AI, core technology infrastructure, and healthcare sectors. This capital deployment trajectory reflects broader market recognition that AI has matured from speculative technology concept into operational business reality requiring sustained venture capital allocation.
The 36Kr WAVES 2026 conference, held in Guangzhou, served as the platform for Hu Qi's public remarks and represents the Chinese venture capital ecosystem's annual sentiment indicator. The conference's core themes—AI normalization, hard-tech industrialization, and geographic expansion—reflect structural shifts in how emerging companies compete and how institutional investors allocate capital. The positioning of hard-tech entrepreneurship from "niche track" to "mainstream consensus" signals fundamental revaluation of venture capital thesis construction within China's innovation economy.
Qiming Venture Partners, managing $9.5 billion in aggregate capital across eleven dollar-denominated and seven RMB-denominated funds, has established itself as one of China's most active institutional investors in artificial intelligence. The firm's investment portfolio spans the complete AI industry value chain, encompassing over 100 projects across both earlier (AI 1.0) and contemporary (AI 2.0) technological generations. The firm's track record includes five AI-related initial public offerings, representing meaningful exit velocity and validation of its investment selection methodology. Notably, Qiming commenced its systematic AI investment focus in 2013, well before widespread institutional adoption of frontier technology investment mandates.
Recent fundraising activity underscores continued institutional capital deployment momentum. Qiming's filing to raise $600 million for its ninth flagship fund targets investment across AI, core technology infrastructure, and healthcare sectors. This capital deployment trajectory reflects broader market recognition that AI has matured from speculative technology concept into operational business reality requiring sustained venture capital allocation.
The 36Kr WAVES 2026 conference, held in Guangzhou, served as the platform for Hu Qi's public remarks and represents the Chinese venture capital ecosystem's annual sentiment indicator. The conference's core themes—AI normalization, hard-tech industrialization, and geographic expansion—reflect structural shifts in how emerging companies compete and how institutional investors allocate capital. The positioning of hard-tech entrepreneurship from "niche track" to "mainstream consensus" signals fundamental revaluation of venture capital thesis construction within China's innovation economy.
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