A major donation has been announced during the 130th-anniversary celebrations of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. On the evening of March 31, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.,Ltd. (CATL) disclosed that its controlling shareholder, Xiamen Ruiting Investment Co., Ltd., has donated 5 million shares of CATL's A-shares to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Education Development Foundation. Based on the closing price of 401.70 yuan per share that day, the donation is valued at over 2 billion yuan, setting a new record for the largest single donation in the university's history. The ultimate controller of the donor is CATL Chairman and 1989 SJTU alumnus Robin Zeng, who has now donated a cumulative total of more than 3.4 billion yuan to his alma mater over the past six years, establishing a benchmark for deep university-enterprise collaboration and alumni giving.
The donation was made through a non-trading transfer process, with Xiamen Ruiting gifting all 5 million unrestricted tradable shares to the foundation. All proceeds and funds from the disposal of these shares will be channeled into the "Robin Zeng Education Development Fund," specifically designated to support the university's educational and scientific research initiatives. Prior to the donation, Xiamen Ruiting held a 22.45% stake in CATL; this has now decreased to 22.34%. The donated shares represent 0.11% of the company's total share capital.
This is not the first time Robin Zeng has made a substantial contribution to his alma mater. In December 2021, Ningbo Ruiting, another entity he controls, donated 2 million CATL shares, valued at approximately 1.374 billion yuan at the time, which was then the third-largest single donation ever made to a Chinese university. Combined with the recent 2 billion yuan donation, Zeng's total contributions to Shanghai Jiao Tong University over six years have reached 3.4 billion yuan, supporting core areas such as talent cultivation, discipline development, and scientific research innovation.
Public records show that Robin Zeng graduated from SJTU's Naval Architecture Engineering program in 1989. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of CATL. During SJTU's 125th-anniversary celebrations in 2021, he was appointed as a university trustee and established the education fund named after him. In the same year, he also became the Honorary Dean of SJTU's School of Future Technology, deeply involving himself in the development of his alma mater's talent cultivation system.
As the global leader in power batteries, CATL reported record performance for 2025: annual revenue reached 423.702 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.04%; net profit was 72.201 billion yuan, up 42.28% year-on-year. The company maintained a global market share of 39.2% in power batteries, ranking first worldwide for nine consecutive years, and held a 30.4% share in energy storage batteries, leading the market for five straight years. CATL has cumulatively invested over 80 billion yuan in research and development, employs 21,000 R&D personnel, and holds more than 50,000 patents, providing solid support for university-enterprise cooperation through its technological strength and industrial resources.
The 2 billion yuan donation will be primarily directed towards national strategic fields such as new energy, materials science, and advanced manufacturing. It will be used to establish top-tier laboratories, attract global talent, set up specialized scholarships, and promote integrated breakthroughs in industry-academia collaboration, thereby helping Shanghai Jiao Tong University strengthen its "Double First-Class" initiative and tackle critical core technology challenges.
The year 2026 marks SJTU's 130th anniversary, and a wave of substantial donations from alumni continues. Besides Robin Zeng, several other leading alumni have made "hundreds of millions" level contributions: Chen Guangming, founder of Ruinyuan Fund, donated 130 million yuan; Ji Qi, founder of Huazhu Group, donated 100 million yuan; Qi Shi, Chairman of East Money Information Co., Ltd., donated 20 million shares (valued at approximately 450 million yuan); Cheng Minghe, Co-founder of Mindray Medical, donated $15 million (about 100 million yuan); and Jing Xiandong, Chairman of Ant Group, and his wife donated 130 million yuan in cash and shares.
Industry analysis indicates that Robin Zeng's consecutive large-scale equity donations not only reflect his deep affection and sense of responsibility towards his alma mater but also demonstrate his firm confidence in CATL's long-term value. Through a synergistic model combining "donation, research, and talent," these contributions help Shanghai Jiao Tong University build world-class disciplines while simultaneously securing cutting-edge technology and high-end talent resources for CATL, creating a virtuous cycle of mutual benefit for the university and the company, ultimately serving national industrial development.
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