China's Nio Capital closes Fund II on $400m
Nio Capital, a China-based investment firm established by the founder of domestic electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio, has raised USD 400m for its second US-dollar denominated fund.
The announcement comes within days of Rockets Capital, a China GP founded with the support of senior management at rival EV maker Xpeng, reaching a first close of USD 200m on its debut fund.
LPs in Nio Capital's second vehicle include sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, multilateral financial institutions, fund-of-funds, family offices, pension funds, and foundations from around the world. Several investors were making their first commitment to a China-focused strategy.
Founded in 2016, Nio Capital has three managing partners: William Li, founder of Nio; Ian Zhu, formerly of Tsing Capital; and Nathan Yu, who previously worked for domestic automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The firm operates independently of Nio.
Its strategic focus is on the industrial chain around EVs, notably energy, automobiles, autonomous driving technology. It has the ability to integrate industry resources with financial goals and identify opportunities at the nexus of the automotive, technology, and energy sectors, according to Zhu.
Fund II will also prioritise opportunities involving digitalisation and decarbonisation in scalable industries such as mobility, energy, and logistics.
Past investments include autonomous driving technology developers Momenta and Pony.ai, LiDAR systems application maker Innovusion, and autonomous trucks specialist Inceptio. Nio Capital has also backed digital energy infrastructure provider NewLink, automotive after-sales service platform Tuhu, and Black Sesame Technologies, a chipmaker focused on autonomous driving applications.
Several portfolio companies are already listed, among them CATAL, a battery manufacturer, and Ronbay Technology, which supplies cathode materials for batteries.
Nio Capital closed its first US dollar fund on approximately USD 200m in 2019. It also manages a renminbi vehicle launched with Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital. The firm has reached a first close on a second renminbi fund, but the size has not been disclosed.
Asante Capital Group acted as exclusive global fundraising adviser to Nio Capital.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.