Peixian Qianyao, a previously obscure small fund in China's venture capital circle, has achieved legendary status by turning a 1.9 million yuan ($267,000) angel investment into an 11.8 billion yuan ($1.66 billion) windfall—a staggering 6,200-fold return—through its early bet on Moore Threads Technology Co., Ltd., China's first domestic GPU unicorn. This success story exemplifies the power of strategic early-stage investing in hard tech.
**Spotting the Perfect Storm: Domestic Substitution Meets Computing Boom** Peixian Qianyao's investment thesis capitalized on two major trends: 1. **The Domestic GPU Imperative**: In 2020, as China faced semiconductor supply chain constraints, GPUs—critical for AI and data centers—were dominated by NVIDIA and AMD, creating a gap for local alternatives. 2. **Moore Threads' Unique Edge**: The company's founder, Jianzhong Zhang (former NVIDIA VP for Greater China), led a team of industry veterans with full-stack GPU expertise. Within 100 days of founding, Moore Threads became a unicorn—China's fastest at the time—attracting rapid capital inflows.
**Masterful Deal Structuring** The fund secured its outsized returns through shrewd tactics: - **Entry at Rock-Bottom Prices**: In September 2020, Peixian Qianyao acquired 3.8% equity at 1 yuan per registered capital (versus 35.28 yuan for later investors), valuing the startup at just 10 million yuan. - **Anti-Dilution Protections**: The fund maintained its 4.249% stake through subsequent funding rounds via clauses like anti-dilution rights and a greenshoe option. - **Patience Pays Off**: Despite multiple valuation jumps (reaching 29.8 billion yuan pre-IPO), the fund held shares until Moore Threads' December 5, 2025,科创板 debut, where shares surged 469% on opening.
**The Math of a Legend** - **Pre-IPO**: The stake was worth 1.27 billion yuan (667x return). - **Listing Day**: At a 282.3 billion yuan market cap, Peixian Qianyao's holding ballooned to 11.9 billion yuan (6,262x). Analysts project further gains if the chip sector rally continues.
**Behind the Scenes: The Quartet That Made It Happen** Four partners with complementary skills drove this success: - **Capital Markets**: Yang Bin (ex-securities broker) facilitated financial engineering. - **Industry Bridges**: Zhou Qi linked Moore Threads with key partners like Colorful (NVIDIA's AIC ally). - **M&A Expertise**: Huang Bohao connected the startup with industrial clients. - **Follow-on Funding**: Chen Bolin (Shanghai Zhushen) reinforced confidence via later investments.
**Broader Implications** This case rewrites three rules for Chinese VC: 1. **Resource-Driven Investing** trumps pure capital in hard tech. 2. **Long-Term Bets on Import Substitution** can yield exponential returns despite early losses (Moore Threads had 5.9 billion yuan cumulative losses). 3. **RMB Funds Can Outperform Dollar VCs** in deep-tech, achieving "Silicon Valley-scale" multiples.
The story proves that with the right timing, terms, and tenacity, local investors can create global-standard outcomes in China's tech ascent.
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