- Two Hangzhou state-owned investment platforms account for 60% of the capital in the new venture fund
- The fund will target AI companies and related industries, building on Zhipu’s growing research and business presence in the city
Chinese AI model developer Zhipu AI (智谱) and state-backed investors in Hangzhou have established a 1-billion-yuan ($149 million) venture capital partnership focused on AI and related industries, deepening the Chinese AI company’s ties with the city.
Corporate registration data from Qichacha showed the Zhejiang Zhipu Jiangmen Cognitive Intelligence Venture Capital Partnership (浙江智谱将门认知智能创业投资合伙企业) was established on September 24.
Its business scope includes venture capital investment in unlisted companies.
The fund is jointly owned by Zhejiang Zhipu Xin Pian Technology (浙江智谱新篇科技有限公司), a subsidiary of Zhipu AI’s affiliate Z.AI, and Hangzhou-based investment platforms, among other partners.
State capital takes the lead
Hangzhou Urban Investment Industrial Development Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Shangcheng Leading Venture Capital each committed 300 million yuan, representing 30% of the fund. Zhejiang Zhipu Xin Pian Technology contributed 290 million yuan, or 29%.
The two Hangzhou state-owned investment platforms together account for 60% of the capital, making them the fund’s main financial backers.
The remaining limited partners are market-oriented investment institutions.
The fund will primarily invest in unlisted companies in AI and related industries. Its term is generally capped at 10 years.
The strategy aligns with Hangzhou’s “296X” advanced manufacturing framework, which prioritizes AI and other industrial clusters. The new fund gives the city another channel to finance AI companies and related technologies.
Ties deepen in Hangzhou
Zhipu’s relationship with Hangzhou has expanded beyond investment. In 2025, Shangcheng Capital and the Hangzhou Urban Investment industrial fund jointly invested more than 1 billion yuan in the company.
After Zhipu listed in Hong Kong in January 2026, it established its national second headquarters in Hangzhou’s Shangcheng District.
In August, the Zhipu Innovation Research Institute was inaugurated in Shangcheng and launched six joint laboratory projects with Zhejiang University.
The research areas include multi-agent collaboration, planning for long-horizon complex tasks, and brain-computer interfaces and neural decoding.
The new venture fund extends the partnership from research and business development into capital allocation, giving Hangzhou’s state-backed investors a dedicated vehicle to support AI companies while strengthening Zhipu’s presence in the city.
Header image generated by Doubao AI
