Hillhouse launches China incubation unit

The programme, called Aseed+, will focus on manufacturing, new energy, new materials, biotech, and carbon neutrality. Cheque sizes will be in the USD 2m-USD 3m range, although it is unclear what the upper limit would be.

The goal is to invest in 100 start-ups over the course of three years. There have already been 20 investments this year, with technology companies making up four-fifths of the total.

Liang Li, a founding partner of Hillhouse who covers hard-tech and climate change investments, is responsible for Aseed+. He told local media that Hillhouse has been a first-round investor in more than 100 start-ups since its inception and has accumulated significant experience in the space.

These first-round bets include biotech player BeiGene, autonomous driving technology developer Horizon Robotics, industrial robotics specialist Agile Robots, electric vehicle manufacturer Nio, 3D content provider Xverse, and coloured contact maker Moody.

Aseed+ emerged from Hillhouse's efforts to track structural changes in technologies and industries and to identify entrepreneurs with deep insights into specific verticals. "Co-creation" will be a core theme of the new programme, with Hillhouse contributing expertise across incubation, market verification, industry insights and resources, and financing.

Hillhouse split its latest vintage into three strategies. A growth fund closed on USD 5.2bn last year, more than twice the original target. There are also buyout and venture funds in the market with targets of USD 9.5bn and USD 1.5bn, respectively. Buyout and venture operate under the Hillhouse Investment brand, while the VC unit is known as GL Ventures.

Moving towards earlier rounds is an established trend in China. It has become even more of a priority following value corrections in the listed technology markets, which have filtered through to private markets but impacted growth-stage deals far more than early-stage transactions. 

Earlier this year, Sequoia Capital China launched an accelerator programme called Yue, which provides systematic training and resources to start-ups at the angel and Series A stages. Source Code Capital has also revealed plans for an early-stage investment unit.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• Technology
• Fundraising
• China
• Hillhouse Capital Management