BOSS Zhipin serves as a limited partner.

At the beginning of 2026, the primary market continued its active trend from last year, and listed companies have been accelerating their layout by making capital contributions.

This time, BOSS Zhipin has stepped into the spotlight. This company, which recently achieved a "good start" in terms of capital, has once again taken action as a limited partner (LP).

BOSS Zhipin Becomes an LP

After a successful start at the beginning of the year, BOSS Zhipin has made another move.

According to Tianyancha information, on March 20, 2026, Jiaxing Zhiruo Digital Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) was officially registered, with a capital contribution of 100 million yuan.

This partnership was jointly funded by Beijing Huapin Borui Network Technology Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of BOSS Zhipin, Shanghai Zhiruo Digital Information Technology Co., Ltd., and Beijing Zhishu Asset Management Co., Ltd. Beijing Zhishu Asset Management Co., Ltd. serves as the general partner. The company's business scope includes venture capital (limited to investing in unlisted enterprises).

Among them, Beijing Huapin Borui Network Technology Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of BOSS Zhipin, contributed 75 million yuan, subscribing for 75.00% of the shares.

In fact, this is not BOSS Zhipin's first attempt at equity investment. Before the company went public, BOSS Zhipin had invested in enterprises such as the human resources cloud platform WordHR and the intelligent hardware device manufacturer Zike. Shortly before this move, BOSS Zhipin had just achieved a landmark exit case - Zhipu AI.

As early as 2023, BOSS Zhipin participated in Zhipu AI's B+++++ round of financing and reaped the rewards at the beginning of this year. On January 8, Zhipu AI officially entered the capital market as the "first stock of large models." This successful exit undoubtedly gave BOSS Zhipin more confidence in its new round of layout in the primary market.

This latest move is another step for BOSS Zhipin in the primary market.

BOSS Zhipin's move is not an isolated case in the industry. According to our observation, driven by multiple factors such as policy support, technological innovation, and market recovery, since 2025, more and more industrial giants have been active in the primary market as LPs.

On March 16, in the latest business registration information of "Boyu Xinzhi Xinchan (Ningbo) Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership)" under Boyu Capital, a number of well - known listed companies such as CATL, Tencent, Vipshop, and Pop Mart have all joined as LPs, making it a star - studded lineup.

Traditional industrial capital is also accelerating its capital layout. Industrial capital from SAIC Group, Septwolves, BMW, and Jinbei has successively made capital contributions as LPs.

In February 2026, SAIC Group announced that its wholly - owned subsidiary, Shanghai Automotive Group Financial Holdings Management Co., Ltd. (referred to as "SAIC Financial Holdings"), jointly with seven institutions including Shanghai Guotou Leading Integrated Circuit Private Equity Investment Fund and Hunan Jinfurong Industrial Guidance Fund, established the "Shanghai Shangqi Shangcheng No. 2 Private Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership)" with a total scale of 2.5 billion yuan. Among them, SAIC Financial Holdings subscribed for 1 billion yuan with its own funds, accounting for 40%, becoming the largest contributor to the fund.

In November last year, Septwolves invested in Shenzhen Capital Group to layout the technology track. In September of the same year, BMW China and Jinbei Automobile jointly invested in the Shenyang Automobile Industry Investment Fund to conduct industrial chain investment around automobile electrification, intelligence, and high - end manufacturing.

A clear signal is being sent: listed companies are gearing up and starting to increase their layout in the primary market.

Listed Companies Compete to Be LPs

The moves of BOSS Zhipin and other listed companies are a microcosm of the warming sentiment in the primary market in 2026.

Continuing the recovery trend in 2025, the primary market has significantly improved in terms of fundraising, investment, and exit this year.

According to the statistics of FOFWEEKLY, in February, the investment activity of institutional LPs increased by as much as 67% year - on - year, generally maintaining a stable trend. From the perspective of fund filing data, a total of 528 private equity and venture capital funds were newly filed in February, a year - on - year increase of 81.44%. Among them, there were 106 private equity investment funds and 422 venture capital funds.

The investment side has also been active. In particular, early - stage investment institutions have shown strong participation this year. From the perspective of the financing market dynamics, the story of completing two rounds of financing and raising hundreds of millions of yuan in just half a year has started to happen again.

The exit environment has also shown positive changes. The IPO market in Hong Kong has been continuously booming, and merger and acquisition transactions have also reached an unprecedented boom, giving market participants new imagination space and opportunities.

What is more remarkable is the active situation of industrial LPs. More and more industrial giants are returning and increasing their equity investment efforts.

The "Monthly Report on Listed Companies' Capital Contributions" recently released by FOFWEEKLY shows that in February 2026, a total of 57 listed companies (including subsidiaries) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange made capital contributions to private equity funds, investing in a total of 43 funds with a total of 52 capital contributions. The total amount of disclosed capital contributions was 4.386 billion yuan, with an average single - contribution amount of 77 million yuan. The average scale of the invested funds has increased significantly compared with that in January.

In terms of the nature of capital contributions, state - owned capital made 5 contributions in February, with a scale of 1.046 billion yuan. Among them, SAIC Group's single - contribution of 1 billion yuan led the market. Non - state - owned capital made 52 contributions, with a total scale of 3.253 billion yuan. Among them, Watson Biotech's single - contribution of 450 million yuan was the highest in the month.

In terms of industry distribution, information technology companies made the most capital contributions, followed by the healthcare industry. In terms of geographical distribution, Jiangsu and Guangdong had the most capital contributions, followed by Zhejiang and Shanghai. Among them, listed companies in Shanghai had the largest capital contribution scale, exceeding 1.1 billion yuan.

It is not difficult to see from the data in February that the participation of industrial capital in the primary market is continuously heating up.

Whether it is the concentrated investment in science and technology innovation fields such as information technology and healthcare or the intensive layout in industrial high - ground areas such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, it reflects the growing maturity of listed companies' equity investment logic - they are no longer satisfied with financial returns but regard LPs as an important tool for industrial chain extension and technological positioning.

As more and more industrial giants step into the spotlight as LPs, the confidence in the market is quietly returning. It not only conveys confidence in their own layout but may also be a clear indicator of the primary market moving towards a new stage of development.

Conclusion

In the past few years, the primary market has experienced a cyclical oscillation from frenzy to cooling. Now, as more and more industrial giants step into the spotlight as LPs, they bring not only capital but also an understanding of the industrial direction, judgment on the technological route, and patience for long - term value.

This "patient capital" led by industrial capital is reshaping the underlying logic of the primary market.

This article is from the WeChat official account "FOFWEEKLY". Author: Huang Rong. Republished by 36Kr with permission.