A venture capital group has emerged from the 985 universities in Wuhan.
Wuhan Optics Valley is bustling with activity.
On the weekend, the 17th Entrepreneurs' Forum of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) opened. At the event, Gong Hongjia, known as "China's most outstanding angel investor", also showed up. He has always been willing to support activities of his alma mater. In the alumni circle, he also serves as the "President of the Entrepreneurship Investment and Financing Association of Huazhong University of Science and Technology".
Few people outside know that HUST, a top engineering university located in central China, has spawned a powerful alumni group in the venture capital circle. Correspondingly, in every era's emerging fields, a group of outstanding entrepreneurs have emerged from HUST.
Therefore, this university famous for engineering shows a rather "tough yet tender" side: a group of investors who graduated from HUST are enthusiastic about supporting their alumni, and they help their fellow alumni realize their entrepreneurial dreams based on natural trust.
Three HUST Classmates
Created a Return of Ten Thousand Times
It has long been a well - known story in the venture capital circle that Gong Hongjia's investment in his classmates yielded a return of ten thousand times.
Let's go back to 2001. At that time, Gong Hongjia had achieved some success in his career. He earned his first pot of gold from the startup of Desheng Radio. And with the listing of AsiaInfo on the US stock market, he achieved his first investment exit through a company's listing.
In the same year, two classmates from HUST approached him. Old classmates Chen Zongnian and Hu Yangzhong left a state - owned enterprise to start a business. They founded Hikvision in a simple office building in Xihu District, focusing on digital audio - video surveillance systems and in urgent need of funds.
At that time, the domestic video surveillance industry was still small - scale and not favored by most people. Facing these two hard - working technical old classmates, Gong Hongjia didn't refuse. Without much hesitation, he promptly invested 2.45 million yuan to acquire a 49% stake in Hikvision. The remaining 51% was held by the state - owned enterprise where Chen Zongnian and Hu Yangzhong used to work.
Thus, an angel investment that would later be recorded in the history of Chinese venture capital was born.
In 2010, Hikvision was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Public information shows that through share - reduction and exit, Gong Hongjia has recovered a total of about 30 billion yuan. Currently, he still directly holds a 10.5% stake in Hikvision, with the corresponding market value still exceeding 30 billion yuan.
The return of over twenty thousand times is enviable. However, the significance of this investment goes beyond that.
A little - known story is that when starting the business, old classmates Chen Zongnian and Hu Yangzhong didn't hold shares. In 2004, Gong Hongjia promised the management team of Hikvision that if the company performed well in the future, he would transfer a 15% stake to the management team at the original investment cost of the company. So, on the eve of the listing, Gong Hongjia transferred a 15% stake to the senior management team of Hikvision at a price of only about 750,000 yuan. He also transferred a 1% stake to old classmate Hu Yangzhong and the then deputy general manager.
The friendship among classmates back then was beyond words. You know, it's very rare for an angel investor to give up profits for equity incentives, both in the past and now. So, what makes the story even more touching is that he not only provided funds to his old classmates but also gave them the confidence to be the masters of the business.
They All Graduated from HUST
Many years later, after achieving great success, when Gong Hongjia took his daughter back to the campus of HUST, he sighed, "Many of the entrepreneurs I invested in and who ultimately brought me huge returns are my alumni."
This remark reveals the strong gene of outstanding entrepreneurs at HUST.
Let's first feel it from a set of data: More than 20,000 students at HUST participate in various disciplinary competitions every year. Here, a three - level innovation and entrepreneurship system of "college - university - national" has been established, covering over 90% of the students. It is reported that in 2024 alone, nearly 20 AI - related projects from HUST alumni received billion - level financing.
In all walks of life, many well - known entrepreneurs graduated from HUST.
Looking at listed companies, Liu Xianbing, the founder of KeMa Technology, a leading company in the field of domestic advanced ceramic materials, is an alumnus of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at HUST. There are also Chen Lili, the founder of Mindray Biomedical; Huang Li, the chairman of Guide Infrared; and Xiong Youhui, the founder of Sifang Optoelectronics; the founders of these A - share companies all graduated from HUST.
In the venture capital circle, Han Fengtao, the founder of Qianxun Intelligence, which raised 1 billion yuan in half a year, graduated from the School of Automation at HUST; Li Miao, the chairman of Tianwen Robot, is from the School of Mechanical Engineering at HUST and also serves as an entrepreneurship tutor at HUST. And He Enpei, the founder of Transn, a company focusing on AI language services, graduated from the School of Integrated Circuits at HUST for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
The list goes on and on: Zhou Yunjie, the chairman of the board of directors of Haier Group; Yao Xin, the founder of PPTV; Huang Xiaoqing, the founder of CloudMinds; Luo Zhenyu, the founder of Get; Li Zhigang, the founder of Dier Laser... the list is endless.
Today, the younger generation of HUST students are starting to carry on this entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
Manus, which caused a sensation in the technology circle in March this year, was founded by Xiao Hong, a post - 90s student from HUST. He accumulated rich entrepreneurial experience on the campus of HUST during his college years. Li Xue, the founder of Ladder Medical, majored in Biomedical Engineering at HUST for her undergraduate studies. After studying in the United States, she returned and founded Ladder Medical, creating the second company in the world to enter the clinical trial stage of invasive brain - computer interface.
From generation to generation, the spirit continues.
Thoroughbreds and Their Bole
Appreciating Each Other
Of course, there are not only "thoroughbreds" here.
Let's turn our attention to the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Entrepreneurship Investment and Financing Association of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Alumni investors gathered here - Gong Hongjia, the founder of Jiadao Capital; Hong Tianfeng, the co - founder of Fangguang Capital; Sun Yelin and Yang Huajun, the founders of Huaye Tiancheng; Li Yuhui, the founding partner of Panlin Capital; Huang Libo, the chairman of Jishi Venture Capital, etc. They all graduated from the campus of HUST.
Actually, there are many HUST students in the investment circle:
Jin Haitao, the chief executive partner of Qianhai Mother Fund; Chen Hao, the vice - chairman of Legend Capital; Li Wenbiao, the managing director of Walden International; Gao Xiang, the founding partner of Gao Rong Capital; Sun Jian, the founding/executive partner of Shixi Capital; Qu Xiangjun, the founding partner of Chang'an Private Capital; Zhang Jian, the vice - president of Shenzhen Capital Group; Zhao Jinqiang of Ruijiang Investment; Gong Yang, the deputy general manager/partner of Suzhou Fund; Wu Feng, the partner of Northern Light Venture Capital; Liu Lu, the managing partner of Haier Capital... their figures are numerous.
There are also female figures in HUST's venture capital landscape. Lu Qinchao, the founding partner of Danlu Capital, graduated from the School of Clinical Medicine of Tongji Medical College at HUST in her early years. She worked at Sequoia China for more than a decade and later founded Danlu Capital. Yang Yunxia, a partner at Sequoia China, also graduated from the School of Clinical Medicine of Tongji Medical College at HUST. And Bao Xiaoli, the executive partner of Qianhai Mother Fund, also graduated from HUST.
Among them, the stories of alumni helping alumni keep emerging.
LeDong Robot, which filed for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year, was founded by HUST alumni Zhou Wei and Guo Gaihua. Huaye Tiancheng, led by alumni, invested in the A - round of LeDong Robot and continued to increase its investment later. In addition, Huaye Tiancheng has also invested in more than 10 alumni - founded enterprises such as Innosecure, KeMa Materials, Juxin Microelectronics, Vertilite, LeDong Robot, Awinic, and PPIO.
Recently, Gong Hongjia is also eager to help an old HUST alumnus realize his dream: "I have an irresistible and strong impulse deep in my soul to help Academician Pan Yuan, who is already 92 years old and from the Institute of Magnetic Confinement Fusion at HUST, fulfill his mission of achieving magnetic confinement controlled fusion on Earth for the peaceful development of mankind." Academician Pan Yuan graduated from HUST in the 1950s and taught at HUST for decades, devoting his whole life to magnetic confinement fusion.
As far as the eye can see, many outstanding alumni have formed a natural trust loop. Here, there are often both "thoroughbreds" and their "Bole".
Looking back, this is also a touching scene in Chinese technology. The real value of hard - technology investment lies in the long - term support of alumni - like capital. Through cross - cycle and multi - round support, they jointly withstand the ups and downs on the entrepreneurial road.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Feng Yuchen and Liu Quan, and published by 36Kr with authorization.