What are the rules of the game for industrial capital going global? Asia Green Capital answered this question over 23 years.

  Investors are not bystanders.

Instead, they are the "co-founders" of the company's growth.

When the listing bell of Finnish carbon nanotube technology company Canatu rang through the dome of the Helsinki Stock Exchange, it was not only a moment for the founder team and Asymchem Capital to share champagne but also marked a successful move by a Chinese cross - border investment institution in the carbon nanomaterial track. Another cornerstone was added to Asymchem Capital's ark.

On the First North Growth Market, a capital springboard specially designed for growth - oriented enterprises, Canatu successfully landed with its disruptive flexible touch sensor technology. As one of the few global enterprises that master the mass - production technology of high - purity carbon nanotubes, Canatu's products have now penetrated into three high - growth fields: semiconductors, automobiles, and healthcare.

If we look through the champagne bubbles rising at the Helsinki Port, we can faintly see the epitome of the globalization progress of this Chinese investment institution. This successful exit from Canatu's listing also reflects Asymchem Capital's tradition of high returns.

To date, Asymchem Capital's two funds have invested in 12 - 13 projects in total. Among them, the DPI of the first - phase fund exceeds 3 times, the TVPI reaches 4 times, and the annualized return exceeds 30%. According to the officially announced data, the exit rate of Asymchem Capital's investment portfolio exceeds 90%.

For example, there are 4 invested enterprises with an exit return multiple of more than 10 times, including iconic projects such as NVC Lighting and Oak International. The exit return of the project of Finnish healthcare technology company Grandium even exceeds 40 times. In addition, more than half of the projects have an exit return of more than 5 times.

Asymchem Capital, a cross - border investment institution, was established in 2002. It is one of the earliest venture capital institutions to transform from a "financial advisor" to a "direct investor". Later, it started to enter the cross - border field by acquiring European automotive parts enterprises. For Asymchem Capital, 2017 was a landmark year. In this year, Asymchem Capital established its first - phase European technology fund, established the main investment channel of "automotive and healthcare technology", and thus began to equip the industry with a capital "colossus".

Looking back at Asymchem Capital's 23 - year growth history, perhaps the greatest inspiration it brings to us is: How did a home - grown Chinese investment institution successfully extend its investment tentacles to the world step by step? How did such a low - key venture capital institution survive the storms of two decades and achieve cycle leaping?

Through this investment case of Canatu, we can somewhat glimpse Asymchem Capital's perseverance: Seize the opportunity in the technology germination period; integrate cross - border resources to magnify the capital value; make medium - and long - term layouts based on industrial resources and industrial insights, and finally obtain high returns in the long - distance race of helping enterprises grow.

The "Technology Hunter" in the Laboratory

In the noisy arena where capital chases after trends, there are always those who choose to sow seeds in the uncharted territory and deeply cultivate early - stage technological innovation. Asymchem Capital is one of them.

Today, the high - return achievements of Asymchem Capital's two funds further prove the importance of investing in early - stage technological innovation. We can see that among the companies invested by Asymchem Capital, whether it is the Finnish carbon nanotube company Canatu, the healthcare technology company Grandium that has achieved an exit and obtained high returns, or the Austrian surgical robot company, they all represent Asymchem Capital's unity of knowledge and action in "focusing on investing in early - stage technologies".

In 2017, when carbon nanotubes had not yet become the standard material for new energy vehicles, Asymchem Capital, based on its judgment of the flexible electronics trend, was the first to lock in the inflection point of the explosion of this technology. When Canatu's founder team was still in the laboratory, Asymchem Capital invested in it one step ahead of the market.

Looking back today, Asymchem Capital's keen insight into early - stage technological innovation is inseparable from its "small but excellent" composite team.

In the process of globalization, Asymchem Capital has continuously attracted outstanding talents from both inside and outside the industry, and finally formed a composite team consisting of "financial - type" investors and "industry - type" investors. They are like "technology detection radars", scattered all over the world in Luxembourg, Beijing, New York, Hong Kong (China), Singapore, etc. This enables Asymchem Capital to form a "technology scanning" ability covering the global perspective, helping it to keenly capture the embryonic technologies emerging from the laboratory.

If we focus on specific investment fields, Asymchem Capital's investment scope is all - encompassing. It "casts a wide net" around the most potential early - stage technological innovations. However, if we dig deeper, Asymchem Capital's investment scope actually focuses on areas such as the "sensing revolution, material evolution, and computational reconstruction", which are also technologies that can be cross - applied in many emerging industries.

In addition, in terms of the investment stage, Asymchem Capital strives to be the "first - round" investor in early - stage technological innovation companies. Hong Jian, the CEO of Asymchem Capital, told 36Kr that Asymchem Capital focuses on innovative companies from the seed round to the A - round, and the single - investment scale is usually in the range of 2 million to 10 million euros. This can ensure Asymchem Capital's investment coverage of key early - stage technological innovations and at the same time occupy a reasonable proportion in the equity distribution of the invested companies.

In terms of investment comfort, the proportion distribution of Asymchem Capital's first - round investment and follow - on investment is relatively even. Taking the current investment portfolio as an example, the proportion of projects in which Asymchem Capital makes the first - round investment is about 10% - 40%. Of course, in addition to the first - round investment, Asymchem Capital will also continue to increase investment in projects with strong technological extensibility in the B - C rounds to ensure long - term companionship and common growth with high - quality projects.

The Alchemy of Becoming a China - Europe "Technology Superconductor"

In the current wave of global industrial chain reconstruction, cross - border investment is shifting from an "opportunistic adventure" to a "systematic project".

We can see that different from investment institutions in the market that rely more on "stacking resources", Asymchem Capital has built a solid "two - way bridge" between China and Europe in 23 years, which enables the interconnection of technology, capital, and the market.

On this two - way bridge connecting China and Europe, the deep complementarity between the European and Chinese markets has become the key fulcrum for Asymchem Capital's investment success. For example, Europe has a profound foundation in basic R & D and precision manufacturing, while the Chinese mainland excels in scenario implementation and engineering capabilities. Therefore, Asymchem Capital focuses on the technological reserves in both China and Europe, finds a balance between domestic substitution and internationalization by pre - arranging technology transformation nodes, and achieves two - way value magnification.

Behind this is Asymchem Capital's long - standing commitment to post - investment management - investors are not bystanders but the "co - founders" of the company's growth. In the view of Hong Jian, the CEO of Asymchem Capital, "Investment is only the starting point, and in - depth participation in the company's growth is the key to value creation." He hopes that Asymchem Capital's global resource endowment can continuously empower the invested companies.

Facts have indeed proven this. For example, when the Finnish carbon nanotube enterprise Canatu tried to enter the Chinese market, Asymchem Capital's "localization ability" became the key driving force. Asymchem Capital not only helped Canatu establish a preliminary understanding of the rules of the mainland market but also helped it connect with many upstream and downstream partners on the mainland. Not only in the mainland market, but Asymchem Capital's extensive reach in the global market has also accelerated the global expansion of the invested companies. Now Canatu's multinational team covers 35 countries.

After 20 years of hard work, Asymchem Capital has developed a deep understanding of overseas markets, especially the European market.

In Asymchem Capital's view, Europe is like a "technology gold mine". Asymchem Capital will select hidden technology champions in Europe and then introduce them to the Chinese market through models such as technology licensing and joint - venture companies. Moreover, the valuations in the European market are more rational. Hong Jian, the CEO of Asymchem Capital, told 36Kr that "the valuations of European enterprises at the same stage are only 1/3 - 1/2 of those in Silicon Valley, and their product maturity is higher."

In Asymchem Capital's observation, the governance of the European market is relatively more standardized, with clear responsibilities of the board of directors and a perfect mechanism for protecting shareholders' rights. This can reduce the frictional costs at the management level. Relying on this market characteristic of "high certainty + low bubble", the DPI of Asymchem's first - phase fund spanning the Chinese and European markets can reach as high as 3 times.

To some extent, Asymchem Capital is not only a "two - way bridge" between China and Europe. Its capabilities of "localizing technology, globalizing the market, and integrating operations" are also reshaping the value chain of cross - border investment, and its global investment layout can help the invested enterprises balance geopolitical risks through cross - regional layouts.

The Industrial "Farmer" after 23 Years of Cultivation

While most institutions are trapped by the dual pressures of high risks in "investing in early - stage and small - scale projects" and difficulties in exiting, 23 - year - old Asymchem Capital has verified the strong resilience of an industrial capital through its real - world experience of crossing cycles.

This industrial gene permeates Asymchem Capital's core team. For example, Hong Jian, the CEO of Asymchem Capital who is in charge of automotive - field investment, once worked at SAIC, the largest automotive group in China. And Jorg Buchholz, a partner in the automotive field at Asymchem Capital, was once the global strategic director of the well - known automotive parts company Magna International.

They witnessed the transformation of the Chinese automotive industry from fuel - powered vehicles to intelligent vehicles and are well - versed in the context and alternating nodes of the automotive industry's transformation. With the blessing of this industrial gene, Asymchem Capital has formed an investment principle of seeking innovative projects based on industrial pain points.

While many institutions are affected by the fluctuations of a single track, Asymchem Capital has formed an industrial investment path driven by "intelligent vehicles and healthcare technology" to hedge against the cyclical fluctuations of a single industry. Through its in - depth understanding of the two industries, Asymchem Capital promotes the cross - industry application of technologies, improving the reuse rate of technologies and the value - creating ability of enterprises. Taking the carbon nanotube company Canatu as an example, Asymchem Capital has promoted the extension of Canatu's application scenarios from the automotive field to the healthcare field, evolving from a single - point technology to a platform - based capability.

Currently, Asymchem Capital has built a vast resource network. In terms of industrial think - tank resources, Asymchem Capital has connected nearly a hundred European research institutions with Chinese listed companies, forming a strong technology - scanning ability and a demand - matching system. Moreover, Asymchem Capital has established good investment partnerships with top global healthcare private equity funds and automotive industry funds, with diverse project - exit channels.

In addition, against the backdrop that the average survival period of teams in the venture - capital industry is less than 5 years, Asymchem Capital's core team has been working together stably for more than 15 years. This stability not only ensures the continuity of the industrial resource network but also avoids the impact of mid - course replacement of investors on the invested companies.

In the new cycle where capital and industry are deeply intertwined, Asymchem Capital's story reveals an anti - consensus truth: Quick in and quick out is a thing of the past. High returns come from long - term accumulation and a deep understanding of the industrial cycle. As the trend - chasing theory fades away, capital like Asymchem Capital, which has gone through a long - term accumulation process, is brewing the next round of high - growth.

This article is from the WeChat official account "36Kr". 36Kr was published with authorization.