Monad Ventures

What Monad Ventures does

Monad Ventures (legal name: Chuxin Investment Management Limited / 北京勿忘初心投资管理有限公司) is a Beijing-headquartered early-stage venture capital fund founded in June 2015 by Managing Partner Tian Jiangchuan, with a representative office in Shenzhen. The firm positions itself as the first institutional investor in Chinese technology startups, with an investment portfolio spanning approximately 150 companies concentrated in enterprise software, AI applications, embodied intelligence, and smart hardware. Its capital structure consists of three RMB-denominated funds and one USD-denominated fund, with the third RMB fund achieving a 500 million RMB first closing in early 2022 (framed as counter-trend fundraising during a difficult LP environment).

The firm's core operating infrastructure is built around proactive deal sourcing rather than inbound pitching. Monad maintains a proprietary talent database (匠心人才计划 / Craftsman Talent Plan) of 600+ pre-vetted potential founders, managed by Partner Xu Saoyang, which has been the origination channel for seed investments including PingCAP, Leyan Technology, and Yifei Automation. An in-house research system called 'Monad Brain,' led by Executive Director Gao Mengya, supports thesis development across AI, embodied intelligence, and enterprise software. A semi-annual Demo Day mechanism institutionalizes distribution — each session attracts ~600+ institutional investors and produces 60-80 introductions per portfolio project, with 10+ portfolio companies closing follow-on rounds after each event. Closed-door peer forums (Star Map Private Directors meetings / 星图私董会) layer on community programming for portfolio CEOs.

The business model is standard venture capital: Monad earns management fees (industry-typical ~2%) on committed AUM across its RMB and USD funds, plus carried interest on realized exits. Returns are highly episodic and concentrated in marquee positions — partial exits in 2021 returned 57x and 22x on individual investments. The portfolio includes several assets that have achieved category-leader or unicorn status, including PingCAP (China's first open-source unicorn, 2,000+ global customers for TiDB), Unitree Robotics (12B+ RMB valuation by 2025 Series C), Deepexi (data intelligence unicorn), Cider (cross-border DTC unicorn), and Dingdan Laile (50M RMB Series B in 2022). The firm has earned multi-year recognition including CVINFO Best Early-Stage VC TOP50 (since 2016), 36kr Most Popular Early-Stage Investor TOP30 and Fastest Growing TOP10 (2022), 2024 Most LP-Favored Early-Stage Investment Institution TOP20, and Managing Partner Tian Jiangchuan's selection to Fortune China's 2025 list of most promising business elites under 40.

Name

Monad Ventures

Legal name

Chuxin Investment Management Limited

Website

https://monadventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Monad Ventures is a Beijing-based early-stage venture capital fund that invests as the first institutional investor in Chinese technology startups spanning enterprise software, AI applications, embodied intelligence, and smart hardware, managing three RMB and one USD fund backing 150+ portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSANAAAI

Micro-VC & Angel Funds

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Venture Capital Firms

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Enterprise software investing
• Technology startup funding
• Seed and angel investing
• Portfolio management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Monad Ventures generates returns through managing early-stage investment funds (RMB and USD denominated). The fund takes equity stakes in portfolio companies and realizes returns through follow-on financing rounds, M&A exits, and IPOs. The fund has completed multiple exits with returns reported as high as 57x and 22x on individual investments.
2. Investment Returns: The fund collects management fees and carries interest (performance fees) from its managed funds. The fund manages three RMB funds and one USD fund as of 2021, with cumulative investment in approximately 100 enterprise service and other sector startups.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Monad Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests seed, angel, and Pre-A capital into Chinese technology and internet startups, specializing in enterprise software, AI applications, embodied intelligence, and smart hardware. The firm manages three RMB-denominated funds and one USD-denominated fund on behalf of institutional limited partners (LPs), taking equity stakes in portfolio companies and earning returns through exits such as follow-on financing rounds, M&A, and IPOs. Beyond capital, the fund provides intensive post-investment services including executive recruitment, customer introductions, follow-on funding facilitation, semi-annual Demo Day events, and peer learning forums for portfolio CEOs.

Product overview

Monad Ventures is an early-stage investment fund (VC firm) focused on technology and internet sectors, specializing in enterprise software, embodied intelligence, AI applications, and smart hardware. The firm does not offer a unified product platform; rather, it operates an investment portfolio spanning approximately 150+ portfolio companies across four investment themes: embodied intelligence (e.g., Unitree robotics, Vita Dynamics), artificial intelligence (e.g., DeepEXI data intelligence, Dreamtech 3D modeling), smart hardware (e.g., Future Intelligence AI earbuds, Nolibox design platform), and exploratory investments. Key portfolio companies include TiDB (open-source distributed database by PingCAP), FastData (lakehouse data platform by DeepEXI), D5 Render (real-time ray tracing renderer), QuickCEP (cross-border MarTech SaaS), Shadow RPA, and Leyan AI customer service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RMB Fund I (人民币基金一期)
• RMB Fund II (人民币基金二期)
• RMB Fund III (人民币基金三期)
• USD Fund I (美元基金一期)
• Semi-Annual Demo Day Events
• Star Map Private Directors Meetings (星图私董会)
• Talent Database Program (匠心人才计划)

Quantifiable outcome

• 57x and 22x returns on partial exits in 2021
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Linear Venture (线性资本): Linear Venture is a Shanghai-based early-stage VC firm that focuses exclusively on enterprise software, data infrastructure, and AI applications in China. Like Monad, it targets founder-led early-stage teams and emphasizes deep technical diligence and post-investment support.
• ZhenFund (真格基金): ZhenFund is one of China's most active seed-stage investors, focusing on technology and internet startups. It shares Monad's orientation toward being an early/first institutional investor and a brand-driven, community-led GTM model.
• Source Code Capital (源码资本): Source Code Capital is a Beijing-based early-to-growth-stage VC firm known for systematic enterprise software and developer-tool investments in China. Like Monad, it publishes sector research, runs a founder community, and has backed multiple enterprise software leaders.
• Ceyuan Ventures (策源创投): Ceyuan Ventures is a Beijing-based early-stage VC firm that has historically focused on technology, internet, and enterprise software deals in China. It has comparable fund size, vintage, and thematic overlap with Monad Ventures' portfolio.
• Matrix Partners China (经纬创投): Matrix Partners China is a leading early-stage venture firm investing in technology, consumer, and enterprise software companies in China. It is a frequent co-investor and direct competitor for the same enterprise software and AI deals that Monad targets.
• Northern Light Venture Capital (北极光创投): Northern Light is a long-standing China-focused early-to-growth-stage technology investor with deep enterprise software and TMT coverage. It operates at overlapping stages and verticals with Monad.
• Shunwei Capital (顺为资本): Shunwei Capital is a Beijing-based early-stage technology investor founded by Lei Jun, with broad exposure to enterprise software, AI, smart hardware, and consumer tech in China. It competes with Monad for early-stage tech deals in similar verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Sinovation Ventures (创新工场): Sinovation Ventures is a major China-based technology investment platform with broader stage range (seed through pre-IPO) and a wider sector mandate than Monad. It overlaps with Monad in AI, robotics, and enterprise software but at larger scale.
• IDG Capital: IDG Capital is one of China's largest and most established VC firms with a broad TMT, enterprise software, and consumer mandate. It is a Demo Day partner of Monad Ventures and a major competitor for early-stage enterprise deals.
• GGV Capital: GGV Capital is a global venture firm with significant China operations investing across consumer, enterprise, and frontier tech. It is a frequent Demo Day participant alongside Monad's portfolio and competes for enterprise software deals at early stages.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments91 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monad Ventures