CAO Bin of Gaoxin Capital: The investment in ZHANG Xuezhang has yielded a return of over 10 times. There are still numerous opportunities in commercial space and AI in the future.
Zhang Xue's motorcycle company won the championship in the WSBK international top - level event. Overnight, Zhang Xue became a well - known star, and the investors behind Zhang Xue's motorcycle company also emerged.
“I decided to invest even before meeting him.” Cao Bin, the chairman of Gaoxin Capital, said that Zhang Xue has the qualities required of an excellent entrepreneur: genuine love, extreme focus, the tenacity to “stick it out to the end”, and the management experience of a senior professional manager.
In the only two rounds of financing of Zhang Xue's motorcycle company so far, Gaoxin Capital was the earliest angel investor. In July 2024, just four months after Zhang Xue's motorcycle company was established, Gaoxin Capital invested 20 million yuan and held a 20% stake at that time.
Now, in less than two years, the valuation of Zhang Xue's motorcycle company has exceeded 1 billion yuan, and the return on Gaoxin Capital's investment has exceeded 10 times. Cao Bin said that they won't consider exiting for the time being, and may continue to increase their investment in Zhang Xue's motorcycle company in the future.
Zhang Xue's motorcycle company is not the main investment area of Gaoxin Capital. They mainly focus on fields such as integrated circuits and commercial aerospace. Cao Bin said that there are still a large number of opportunities in the fields of AI and commercial aerospace, and 70% - 80% of future investments will still be concentrated in hard - tech fields such as chips and commercial aerospace.
In his opinion, commercial aerospace will become the next trillion - level market after chips. The success of Starlink under Elon Musk in commercialization has shown us more possibilities. At the same time, national strategies and the diverse needs of the world are driving the development of this market.
Gaoxin Capital was established in 2021, and the current fund management scale exceeds 6 billion yuan. According to Cao Bin, Gaoxin Capital has invested in more than 40 projects so far, and 7 projects have been successfully listed.
The main investment targets of Gaoxin Capital include: Jinghe Integrated (688249.SH), Yahua Electronics (301337.SZ), Xinxiang Micro (688593.SH), Changxin Memory Technologies, Xinghe Power, etc.
The following is an excerpt from the interview of Cao Bin at the 2026 Angel Investment Conference hosted by Shanghai State - owned Investment Corporation, Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Finance Research Institute, and Shanghai Angel Association on April 19th:
Zhang Xue's success stems from his unwavering commitment to his goals
Q: Is Zhang Xue's success an inevitable result or a bit of a coincidence?
A: I think it has a lot to do with his personal goals. His goal is to be the world's number one and win the world championship. This goal was not put forward when he founded Zhang Xue's motorcycle company; it was put forward when he was at Kove Motorcycle. But at that time, he didn't get support, so he chose to start his own business independently.
Q: Is Zhang Xue's motorcycle company's stunning performance in the world a one - off case or does it reflect certain characteristics of current Chinese manufacturing?
A: In my personal view, China has never truly mastered the core technologies in the fields of automobiles and motorcycles. At this time, an atypical entrepreneur, driven by his extreme personal love, achieved a leap in the core technology level through self - developed engines and finally won the world championship, making a big splash.
Now we always talk about “overtaking on the curve”. The success of Zhang Xue's motorcycle company makes people realize that Chinese manufacturing is not inferior to that of the West. Even in traditional fields, we can surpass Western giants, which is very crucial for enhancing our national self - confidence, and this is also the reason why many people are touched.
Love, focus, tenacity, and management experience are essential qualities for entrepreneurs
Q: Gaoxin Capital mainly focuses on the semiconductor field. Why did you invest in an unpopular racing industry?
A: Our main track is integrated circuits, and we also have some commercial aerospace projects. There are also many other projects outside these two fields. The common feature of these projects is that the founders are the ideal entrepreneurs in our eyes.
Q: What attributes attracted you? As Zhang Xue's angel investor, what impressed you and made you decide to invest in Zhang Xue's motorcycle company?
A: There are several points I personally like: First, genuine love for the cause one is engaged in; second, extreme focus on one thing; third, tenacity in the face of various difficulties; fourth, entrepreneurs who come from senior management positions in enterprises and have received management training within the enterprise. Zhang Xue just has all these elements.
Now that Zhang Xue has succeeded, but think about it. If we had invested in Zhang Xue when he first went to Chongqing in 2013, or when he was still in another company in 2017, or when he just founded Kove in 2020, it might have been a failed lesson now.
Regarding the technology itself, we don't have a deeper understanding. We mainly invest in people. Zhang Xue's characteristics are very distinct, with all four points of love, focus, tenacity, and management experience.
Q: You once said that even if you didn't invest, someone else would invest in Zhang Xue. Was it really the case that others would invest in them at that time?
A: 100%. Zhang Xue has a strong ability to raise funds. He also has many fans, and he will definitely achieve what he wants to do.
Everyone must change an idea: Technology, money, and people are all production factors. Under the leadership of a person with entrepreneurial spirit, these factors can be reorganized. These factors exist and are scattered in different corners of society. When a person integrates technology, capital, and talent, and under the guidance of a clear strategic vision, good results will be achieved over time.
The most typical example is Zhang Xue's motorcycle company. The motorcycle supply chain was not created by Zhang Xue; it already existed. But no one had the courage to say “I want to develop a world - class engine” before. Without such an idea, the capabilities of the supply chain would not be better utilized. Zhang Yiming once said something similar. When you have a clear vision and a very clear development strategic goal, all the money, people, and technology in society will come to you.
The book profit from investing in Zhang Xue is more than 10 times, and may continue to increase in the future
Q: What is the current return on investing in Zhang Xue's motorcycle company?
A: At that time, the valuation was 100 million yuan. We invested 20 million yuan and held a 20% stake. At the end of 2025, Zhang Xue's motorcycle company established an equity - holding platform and repurchased 10% at a valuation of 200 million yuan. Later, Zhejiang Investment invested 90 million yuan at a valuation of 1 billion yuan. Recently, I heard that someone is willing to invest at a valuation of 5 billion yuan. Currently, our investment return is about 10 times. If the 5 - billion - yuan valuation is real, it will be 50 times.
Q: How long is your expected time for the Zhang Xue's motorcycle company project? Will you continue to increase the investment or have an exit plan?
A: The originally expected time was 5 - 7 years. Zhang Xue's personal ability is very strong. His rapid development in such a short time and the resulting national influence were completely unexpected. We may increase the investment later, but there is no exit plan for the time being.
Q: Are there a second or third “Zhang Xue” among the current investment targets?
A: There are many people like Zhang Xue around us, but they just don't have the opportunity to be recognized. There are many entrepreneurs who stick it out in one field and make their products to the extreme. Zhang Xue is very lucky to be seen by everyone. We have also invested in many such enterprises, hoping that these entrepreneurs who are doing very well in their respective fields will have the opportunity to be seen by everyone.
Q: Did investing in Zhang Xue bring any inspiration or changes to Gaoxin Capital's investment philosophy?
A: Continue to look for truly excellent founders in this direction.
Q: Will you continue to focus on the core sectors in the future, or invest in projects around excellent entrepreneurs like Zhang Xue?
A: About 70% - 80% of our fund is in the mid - to - late stage, and 20% - 30% is in the early stage. From the practical results, 70% - 80% is mainly focused on the semiconductor and commercial aerospace fields, and 20% - 30% is in other tracks. Zhang Xue's motorcycle company belongs to other tracks.
In the future, we will still focus on the main track. At other times, when we come into contact with different people and projects that we think are good and in line with our philosophy, we will participate appropriately.
90% of the global token calls will be from China in the future
Q: How do you view the development of China in the field of large AI models?
A: Our own understanding of AI is constantly improving.
At first, when only NVIDIA was making GPUs in the world, we felt that China was “held back by the neck”, and it seemed that there was no future for Chinese AI. Later, when Huawei's Ascend 910 series came out, while others scored 100 points, we could catch up.
At the end of 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT. Later, super - large models such as Anthropic and Gemini were successively launched. You would feel that both hardware and software couldn't keep up. At the beginning of 2025, DeepSeek emerged out of nowhere, and we found that large models could also be developed in China.
We thought there would be no chance for other companies after DeepSeek, but in 2026, MiniMax and Zhipu appeared, and Internet giants also launched products like Doubao and Qianwen.
At this time, you will find that this field is very different from what we imagined - where we thought there was absolutely no chance, we have successively seen opportunities.
Q: What are the current opportunities for AI in China?
A: Computing power mainly includes the following core elements: First, computing power chips; second, large models; third, data centers; fourth, electricity. When it comes to specific application levels, China's advantages will be reflected.
China has the world's largest databases in many fields. For example, ByteDance's Jimeng is doing well in the field of generative video because they have the world's largest short - video database, which is growing geometrically every day; the models trained in the field of AI medical imaging detectors in China may be more accurate than the results of ordinary doctors because Chinese hospitals have the largest imaging data.
I personally judge that in 10 years, 90% of the global token calls may come from China. China has the world's most developed power grid and the cheapest electricity prices. For commercial companies, as long as the needs can be met, of course, they will call tokens from the cheapest place.
Based on this, the world's largest data centers will be built in Xinjiang and Tibet in the future, and it is almost certain that tokens will go global. The related industrial chains around tokens - chips, liquid cooling, servers, optical fibers, and optical modules - will experience explosive growth in China.
Q: Some people in China have proposed the “power window dividend period”. If foreign countries reduce the token consumption to a low enough level through technological advantages, they may not need our power system. How do you view the different development paths between China and foreign countries?
A: Foreign models are being optimized, and so are domestic ones. China's disruptive advantage in tokens is irresistible.
For example, if we lay a large number of photovoltaic panels in the Taklimakan Desert and then equip a nearby energy storage center and build a data center. At that time, when a question sent from the west coast of the United States is calculated in the Xinjiang data center in China and then a result is returned, people may not feel any difference in latency, but the cost difference is huge. From this perspective, China's late - comer advantage will become more and more prominent.
In the competition of AI, whether the United States or China will win, my judgment is that it is more likely that China will win in the long run - the power cost is low enough, the power grid is developed enough, and the chips and models are catching up rapidly. As Jensen Huang has repeatedly mentioned, in the end, AI competition is essentially a competition of power.
Commercial aerospace is the next best investment opportunity
Q: Under the background of new - quality productivity, where do you think the best investment opportunities are?
A: Different institutions have different judgments. I personally am very optimistic about commercial aerospace. Based on the following reasons:
First, Elon Musk's SpaceX has successfully established a business model. Just 9 million users generated a net profit of 8 billion US dollars for Starlink last year. If the third - generation satellite Direct to Cell (DtoC) is successful, the future user potential and net profit will also see a hundred - fold increase.
Second, the diverse needs of the world mean that Starlink will not be the only dominant player. In the future, there will be more products to meet the different needs of different countries.
Third, from the national strategic level, if we want to compete with the United States in the aerospace field, we must build a Chinese - version Starlink.
In short, the demand for commercial aerospace is rigid, the business model is feasible, and it is very important for the country. So commercial aerospace will thrive in the next 5 - 7 years and will probably become a trillion - level market in the future, just like the semiconductor industry.
Q: What is the main contradiction to be solved in the commercial aerospace field currently?
A: Reusability. Our rocket and satellite technologies are not backward. The real breakthrough needed is how to send rockets into space at a low cost. Once this problem is solved, other problems will be easily solved.
This article is from the WeChat public account “Bright Company” (ID: suchbright). Author: Editor - in - Chief is online 24 hours a day. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.