Lanchi Ventures closes $560M fund to bet on Chinese AI
What's the deal? Lanchi Ventures has closed its fourth dual-currency fund at $560M (RMB 3.9B), bringing its total assets under management to $2.8B.
The Beijing-based early-stage firm was built by managing partner Jui TanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (also known as Chen Weiguang), who established its China operations in 2005 as part of Silicon Valley's BlueRun VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → before rebranding it as Lanchi Ventures in September 2023.
The fund has two tracks: the RMB vehicle will focus on sectors aligned with China's industrial policy, while the USD vehicle targets globally competitive AI ventures founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.
The RMB tranche was oversubscribed and closed in under a year; the USD side drew sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and family offices from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan — beyond the firm's traditional European and North American LP base.
Why now? Chinese VC fundraising is rebounding sharply on the back of state capital inflows into domestic tech. Q1 2026 VC fundraising in China is estimated to have exceeded the previous quarterly record of RMB 68.9B set in Q3 2021, according to the Asset Management Association of China.
USD interest is returning selectively — only to top-tier firms with a clear deep tech mandate. Lanchi Ventures' pivot to large language models began in early 2021, and its portfolio now spans the three key pillars of the AI boom: foundation models, AI agents, and embodied intelligence.
What could go wrong? Fund IV, at $560M, is 29% smaller than its $805M predecessor closed in May 2022 — a sign the firm is deliberately keeping the fund lean, though it also reflects a tougher fundraising environment for China-focused vehicles. Geopolitical headwinds continue to complicate the USD side: global LPs remain cautious about Chinese tech exposure, and exit paths via US listings remain constrained.
The market Lanchi is betting on — Chinese AI — is also becoming crowded. Source Code Capital closed $600M for dual-currency AI funds in late 2024; Luminous Ventures and others are still in the market.
The signal: The raise is part of a broader, quiet rerating of Chinese AI. DeepSeek's breakout in early 2025 reset global perceptions of what Chinese AI labs can do, and investors are repositioning accordingly. Embodied intelligence — humanoid robots — has become a particular hotspot, with seven Chinese startups crossing unicorn valuations in the sector recently.
Lanchi's portfolio reflects this shift: seed bets on robotics firms Galbot and Agibot, foundation model Moonshot AI (Kimi), and AI agent startup GensparkDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which surpassed $250M in annual recurring revenue within 11 months of launch.
The firm's 20-year track record in China, combined with its Silicon Valley roots, gives it rare credibility on both sides of a market that most Western funds are still trying to read from a distance.
Sources:
Lanchi Ventures's LinkedIn post
KrAsia
DealStreetAsia
Let's Data Science
Image credit:
Lanchi Ventures
J.V.
