China’s venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) industry has navigated through a tough environment in terms of fundraising and exits in 2024.
With state-led fund sponsors dominating the market, many Chinese general partners (GPs) turned to China’s deep-pocketed state LPs for fundraising last year. But working with the state capital investors, who tend to be risk-averse, has been a steep learning curve for many who joined the fundraising trail last year.
To be sure, startups saw a comeback in extension rounds in 2024 that signals how privately-owned firms have been adapting and surviving at a time when the fundraising scene has been squeezed, with cost-cutting measures, headcount reduction, and pull-back of R&D plans of companies making headlines.
However, not all was lost. Even under such a gloomy climate, the market continued to see unicorns (firms hitting the $1 billion valuation mark).
Here are the top ten startups that made it into the coveted list in 2024, according to data supplied by Chinese data provider ITjuzi.
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Yinwang Smart Technologies (引望智能)
Set up by Huawei Technologies in January 2024, Shenzhen Yinwang Smart Technologies, which engages in the R&D, production, and sales of intelligent automotive components, signifies Huawei Technologies’s further push towards the competitive EV sector.
The now one-year-old firm turned into an unicorn after snapping up a combined 23 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) from two megadeals after Chinese EV firm AVATR Technology and Shanghai-listed automobile maker Seres Group separately announced that they would buy a 10% stake each in the Huawei-owned smart auto parts firm.
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Moonshot AI (月之暗面Kimi)
Following the advent of OpenAI’s large language model GPT-3 in June 2020, the generative AI frenzy has since taken China by storm with local upstarts and big tech giants launching their large language models (LLMs).
Founded in March 2023, Moonshot AI joined the unicorn club after it pocketed $1 billion in an Alibaba Group-led funding round in February 2024. The round reportedly pushed the firm’s post-money valuation to $2.5 billion.
What’s more, the startup’s valuation soared to $3.3 billion after Moonshot AI secured over $300 million in investment from another tech giant Tencent Holdings, Bloomberg reported in August.
But, Yang Zhilin, founder behind the generative AI upstart has recently been embroiled in a legal tussle with GSR Ventures China and four other investment firms that injected capital into Chinese enterprise software firm Recurrent AI, Yang’s previous business venture before Moonshot.
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Beijing Electronics IC Manufacturing (北电集成)
Beijing Electronics Integrated Circuit Manufacturing, the integrated circuit manufacturing unit under state-owned Beijing Electronics Holding, joined the unicorn party in November 2024.
The chipmaker secured almost 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) from several investors including Tianjin Jingdongfang Innovation Investment (affiliated with BOE Technology Group), Yan Dong Microelectronics, and E-Town Capital, among others, as it plans to use the almost-20-billion yuan ($2.8 billion) proceeds to finance its 12-inch wafer fab.
Founded in October 2023, Beijing Electronics rides on the country’s ambitions to become self-reliant in chipmaking amid an intensifying crackdown from the US.
The investment comes at a time when the semiconductor industry — one of the hottest sectors among investors — has been on a downward trajectory in terms of deal count from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024, according to DealStreetAsia’s proprietary data.
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Sungrow New Energy Development (阳光新能源)
Sungrow New Energy Development, the new energy subsidiary of Chinese publicly listed solar inverters developer Sungrow Power Supply, attained unicorn status after it kicked off its first external financing round in February.
The firm, which engages in the design and production of power generation systems and equipment used in new energy power plants, raised 347 million yuan ($48.3 million) from two state capital investors in eastern China in its maiden round, per a stock exchange filing by its parent.
Most recently, Sungrow New Energy completed acquiring a 10.24% stake in Shanghai-listed AI imaging equipment and services firm Hefei Taihe Intelligent Technology, according to a separate exchange filing on December 18. The news comes a year after Sungrow Power Supply prepares its new energy unit for a spin-off and a separate listing on a stock exchange in mainland China.
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Dongchedi (懂车帝)
Dongchedi, the auto information and trading platform under TikTok owner ByteDance, entered the unicorn club after the firm was reportedly raising between $700 million and $800 million in funding, tech news outlet The Information reported in June, citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The fundraising was part of ByteDance’s plan to spin off businesses that the firm no longer considers core, per the report. In September, Bloomberg reported that Dongchedi was raising as much as $600 million, counting notable investors such as General Atlantic, HongShan, KKR & CO, and Gaorong Ventures, among others, in the round that valued the firm at close to $3 billion.
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CRRC Times Semiconductor (中车时代半导体)
Zhuzhou CRRC Times Semiconductor, the controlling subsidiary of state-owned trains and electric vehicle systems manufacturer Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric, hit the billion-dollar valuation mark after the firm secured around 4.3 billion yuan ($597.3 million) in an equity financing round in April.
Set up by its parent firm in January 2019, the Zhuzhou-registered firm covers all stages of semiconductor manufacturing from planning, and production to the sales of the final products. Its parent firm Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric has engaged in the R&D and industrialisation of power semiconductor devices since the 1960s.
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Joyson Safety Systems (安徽均胜汽车)
Joyson Safety Systems, a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed auto parts maker Ningbo Joyson Electronic, attained the unicorn symbol after its parent sold a 10% stake in the unit to two Ningbo-based state capital investors for almost 1.5 billion yuan ($208.4 million), according to an exchange filing in March 2024.
The funding and new investors will help Joyson Safety Systems, which produces safety-critical components and technology for both automotive and non-automotive markets, to expand its market share in China, per the filing.
Founded in 2018, Joyson Safety Systems is headquartered in the US, with a global network of 43,000 employees across 25 countries. The firm claims to generate an annual sales of around $6 billion, according to its company website.
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Neo Fusion (聚变新能Neo Fusion)
Neo Fusion, which develops fusion technologies, joined the unicorn club after securing a strategic investment from several state-owned investors including oil giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in July, according to multiple Chinese media reports.
Nuclear fusion is the process when two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy, according to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Scientists have been on a quest to commercialise the energy in the hope that this environment-friendly energy source can battle climate change.
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Taiping Pension (太平养老保险)
Taiping Pension (TPP), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed China Taiping Insurance Holdings, joined the herd after Belgium-headquartered international insurance group Ageas announced its plan to subscribe 10% of the enlarged share capital of TPP for around 1.1 billion yuan ($152.3 million), according to a company announcement in May 2024.
The transaction, which is expected to close in Q1 2025, enables Ageas to tap into the Chinese pension market; as well as strengthen its Asia presence, per the announcement. Founded in 2004, Shanghai-based TPP is one of the largest insurance firms in China that engages in pension and employee benefits insurance.
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Fosun Health (复星健康)
Shanghai Fosun Health Technology Group (Fosun Health), a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) entered the unicorn club after a state capital investor announced pumping in 300 million yuan ($41.5 million) at a pre-money valuation of 10.2 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), according to an exchange filing by its parent in May 2024. The proceeds will finance daily operations and business development of the medical care and technology group, per the filing.
