What Eminence Ventures does

Eminence Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Peter Cheng, a former Tencent General Manager and serial entrepreneur (AdChina, Adify, Oracle, eBay). The firm invests exclusively in GenAI-empowered enterprise software companies — primarily in China — with a stated mission of becoming the leading VC partner for founders transforming enterprise software via generative AI. Eminence operates from San Mateo, California (headquarters) and Shanghai, giving it a cross-border footprint that most China-focused peers lack. Its portfolio spans multimodal AI, embodied AI, vector databases, enterprise SaaS, and content infrastructure, with high-visibility bets in AI video generation (PixVerse, Viggle.ai), 3D content (VAST), robotics (Hillbot, Spirit AI), vector databases (Zilliz), and e-signature (eSign).

Eminence's product surface extends beyond capital allocation. It publishes the proprietary EEC Index (Eminence Enterprise Cloud Index), a benchmark for Chinese enterprise cloud performance, and runs the Cloud 100 China ranking with backing from Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei Cloud. The firm also operates community programs — an Annual CEO Summit, a Founders' Portal, and the AI Cloud 100 China Go Global Workshop (a Silicon Valley immersion in partnership with Google Cloud, Emergence Capital, AGI House, and Deel) — which generate inbound deal flow and provide portfolio founders with go-global infrastructure. The team of 16 is led by Cheng and includes operators from Tencent, Warburg Pincus, Morgan Stanley, CITIC Securities, PwC, and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk.

Eminence's business model is standard venture capital fund management: management fees on committed/deployed capital and carried interest on successful exits, with fund terms negotiated bilaterally with LPs. It has raised two funds to date — a $37 million Fund I in 2017 (fully deployed across 17 enterprise software startups with no write-downs) and a $120 million Fund II in May 2021 led by Emergence Capital and backed by Unicorn Capital Partners, bringing total AUM to roughly $157 million. LPs include U.S. endowments and charitable foundations, sovereign wealth funds, funds-of-funds, family offices, and founders/executives of top-tier technology companies. The firm holds an exclusive strategic partnership with Emergence Capital for co-investment in Chinese cloud services, which functions as a key differentiator versus other emerging China-AI managers.

Name

Eminence Ventures

Legal name

Eminence Ventures

Website

https://eminence.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eminence Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in GenAI-empowered enterprise software companies, primarily in China with global bridge programs. Founded in 2017, it manages approximately $157 million across two funds from offices in San Mateo and Shanghai.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Private Equity

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI), Micro-PE / Lower Middle Market ETA Funds (FSANALAG), Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Enterprise software investing
• Generative AI startups
• Early-stage investment
• Fund management services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: Eminence Ventures manages VC funds with capital from institutional investors including U.S. endowments, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and tech company founders. Revenue generated through management fees and carried interest on successful exits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Eminence Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that manages and deploys capital funds (Fund I $37M, Fund II $120M) into GenAI-empowered enterprise software startups. The firm invests in founders building AI-native enterprise products across video generation, vector databases, embodied AI, CRM, and e-signature, while providing post-investment services including financial management, strategic advisory, and global expansion support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EEC Index: Eminence Enterprise Cloud (EEC) Index - a market benchmark index designed to track the performance of Chinese enterprise cloud companies.

Products and services

• Early-Stage Venture Capital Funds (Fund I and Fund II) Pooled venture capital funds deployed into early-stage GenAI-empowered enterprise software startups. Fund I closed at $37M (2017) and Fund II closed at $120M (2021), with limited partners including U.S. endowments, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and Emergence Capital / Unicorn Capital Partners. Capital is paired with post-investment value-add services (bookkeeping, financial statements, compliance, executive coaching, mentor and talent network access).
• EEC Index (Eminence Enterprise Cloud Index) A proprietary market benchmark index designed and published by Eminence Ventures to track the performance of Chinese enterprise cloud companies. The index provides market intelligence and industry benchmarking as a thought-leadership reference for the AI Cloud ecosystem in China.
• Cloud 100 China An industry initiative established by Eminence Ventures to recognize leading Chinese AI Cloud companies, with backing from Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei Cloud. Functions as a ranking and ecosystem program for the Chinese enterprise cloud sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio company eSign reached unicorn status with 12x premoney valuation increase since initial investment in early 2018
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Google CloudcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025Google Cloud partnered with Eminence Ventures to host the AI Cloud 100 China Go Global Workshop - a five-day Silicon Valley immersion program for portfolio founders. Ali Goldstein Norup, Head of VC & Startup Ecosystem for North America at Google, provided insights on investor expectations.
• AGI HouseminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025AGI House hosted portfolio founders as part of the Silicon Valley immersion program, demonstrating how fellowships, early investment, and community-driven collaboration can accelerate founder growth.
• DeelminorOthers · 1 January 2025Deel, a global HR platform helping companies manage international workforce, provided guidance on U.S. visa processes and legal navigation for international entrepreneurs launching ventures in Silicon Valley.
• Emergence CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Eminence Ventures is the exclusive strategic partner of Emergence Capital in China. The partnership involves co-investment in Chinese cloud services startups, knowledge sharing, and market trend exchanges. Emergence Capital backed Eminence's Fund II with $120 million raise.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Linear Capital: Shanghai-based early-stage VC focused on enterprise software, data, and AI in China — direct comparable in stage, sector, and Chinese enterprise software thesis.
• Source Code Capital: China-focused early-stage VC backing enterprise software and AI-driven SaaS companies; similar stage and enterprise-cloud thesis to Eminence Ventures.
• Z Venture Capital: Early-stage Japan/Asia VC with AI and enterprise software focus; comparable as a regional early-stage VC targeting AI-empowered enterprise software founders.
• Sinovation Ventures: US-China cross-border early-to-growth stage VC with deep enterprise AI and B2B focus, comparable to Eminence's strategy of bridging Chinese AI founders with Silicon Valley.
• Matrix Partners China: Early-stage China VC with significant enterprise software and AI investments, overlapping with Eminence's Chinese enterprise SaaS focus.

Broad incumbents

• M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund): Strategic enterprise-software-focused VC; comparable as a deep-pocketed investor in GenAI-empowered enterprise software companies with corporate cloud backing.
• IDG Capital: Established cross-border VC with enterprise software and AI portfolios in China and the US; comparable as a broad incumbent in the same enterprise/AI category.
• Emergence Capital: Silicon Valley enterprise SaaS specialist and Eminence's exclusive strategic partner — comparable as an enterprise-cloud investor with a much larger fund size and broader US focus.
• HongShan (Sequoia China spin-off): One of the largest China-focused VCs with broad enterprise software and AI exposure; comparable as a much larger incumbent operating in the same enterprise-AI opportunity set.
• GGV Capital (Granite Asia): Cross-border VC with US-China operations backing enterprise and AI startups at multiple stages; comparable thesis around enterprise SaaS and AI infrastructure in both markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eminence-ventures-ai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Eminence Ventures