3.5 billion yuan: The largest VC fundraising at the end of the year is born

According to investment industry sources, Monolith Capital has recently completed the final closing of its US dollar VC Fund II and RMB VC Fund I. The total size of the new dual-currency funds is $488 million (approximately RMB 3.5 billion). In the middle of this year, Monolith's hedge fund also completed a new round of fundraising and continued to expand.

So far, Monolith's total asset management scale has exceeded RMB 10 billion.

Recalling November 2021, Monolith announced its establishment and officially debuted in the venture capital circle with its first technology hedge fund. "Monolith represents the ultimate truth and wisdom of the universe. Choosing this name expresses our curiosity, pursuit of truth, and exploration of the essence of business and the world," explained Cao Xi, the founding partner of Monolith at that time.

In the four years since its establishment, by focusing on the AI track and investing in several representative projects, Monolith has gradually established a distinct path and style among the new generation of VC firms. This fundraising once again proves that the new generation of Chinese VCs is on the rise.

$350 million in ammunition, targeting early-stage investments with restraint

According to investment industry sources, in fact, both of Monolith's new funds were significantly oversubscribed. During the fundraising process, they received subscription intentions of about 160% of the initial target, totaling approximately $630 million. However, Monolith chose to actively reduce the fundraising scale to maintain its disciplined investment approach.

The more difficult the fundraising environment, the better the investment opportunities may be. Those who get the bullets first have more options to pull the trigger. Continuing Monolith's consistent approach of "research-driven, thematic investment," the two new funds will continue to focus on the core directions of artificial intelligence, covering areas such as AI application layers, model infrastructure, and hardware and embodied intelligence.

Monolith is also cautious in its investments. Monolith wrote on its third anniversary, "From day one, we believed that what really matters is to invest in a few truly excellent companies, rather than investing in many companies." Since its establishment, Monolith has deliberately controlled the fundraising scale and expansion pace, spending more time on research and accompanying entrepreneurs.

Now, with the completion of the fundraising for the two VC funds and the existing hedge fund, Monolith's dual-currency, multi-product layout along the artificial intelligence investment line has taken shape. With a total management scale of RMB 10 billion, in-depth research, and more sufficient capital, Monolith will continue to support the next generation of important companies.

A VC's four-year journey

Looking back over the past few years, Monolith is undoubtedly one of the most representative new-generation VCs.

Going back to November 2021, Cao Xi, a former partner at Sequoia China, and Tim Wang, a former secondary market partner at Boyu Capital, jointly founded Monolith. At that time, Monolith's first $500 million hedge fund made a stunning debut, causing quite a stir.

Subsequently, the venture capital environment became increasingly challenging, but its fundraising remained smooth. In February 2023, Monolith's US dollar VC Fund I completed its first closing. It took less than three months from the official launch to the first closing.

According to investment industry sources, Monolith's US dollar VC Fund II was oversubscribed in just one month.

Now, Monolith's primary investment team consists of professional investors from fields such as artificial intelligence, hardware engineering, and consumer products. They are familiar with both technical principles and business implementation. They are a group of young, interesting, thoughtful, and energetic excellent investors.

The market's evaluation is that this team, active in the frontline, doesn't aim for quantity in investments. They have good investment taste, communicate directly, are extremely friendly to entrepreneurs, and have a simple and efficient organizational culture.

In terms of investment direction, as the global capital market is in a cyclical change, Monolith's investment philosophy has always emphasized "finding the best companies in the biggest changes." The biggest change at present is undoubtedly the new generation of artificial intelligence.

Looking back over the past two years, Monolith has focused on the artificial intelligence investment line, forming a systematic layout in areas such as large models, AI software infrastructure, embodied intelligence, and hardware. The overall portfolio covers key links in the AI industry chain. A preliminary map is emerging - companies such as Dark Side of the Moon (a large model company), Yuvai (an AI education company), Xingmai Innovation (a pool robot company), LeXiang Technology (an embodied intelligence company), and Jike Technology (a consumer exoskeleton technology company). Most of these companies have achieved rapid growth and multiple rounds of financing after investment.

At the same time, Monolith's RMB fund focuses on AI chips and computing power infrastructure. The project of Muxi Technology has successfully passed the review.

The accuracy of Monolith's investments also benefits from the accumulation of its hedge fund team. Since its establishment, the fund has conducted in-depth research on dozens of world-class listed companies globally and shared the information in real-time and transparently within the team. This mechanism has enabled Monolith's investment team to gain a more comprehensive perspective and global judgment ability.

A leading indicator

As the year draws to a close, Monolith's successful fundraising brings a long-awaited warmth.

According to the Zero2IPO Research Center, in the first three quarters of 2025, the number and scale of newly raised funds increased by 18.3% and 8.0% year-on-year respectively. Looking closely, the dominant position of RMB funds has been further strengthened, while the fundraising of foreign currency funds has continued to decline. Everyone is looking forward to a recovery.

The warming of the market often starts with fundraising.

Previously, it was rumored in the industry that several domestic VC institutions in China had launched new rounds of US dollar fundraisings, which caused quite a stir among overseas LPs. Now, Monolith's successful and early completion of fundraising is inspiring.

Notably, overseas funds are re-evaluating the value of Chinese AI assets. Some long-term funds from Europe and the Middle East are starting to look back at the Chinese market. The aesthetic, style, and professional level demonstrated by the new generation of Chinese VCs happen to capture this wave of opportunities.

In the venture capital industry, after several years of exploration, the new generation of Chinese VCs has entered a growth stage. After more than 30 years of ups and downs in the venture capital market, having witnessed the golden age of VC 1.0 and the rise of VC 2.0, a new group of young institutions has found their stage.

Every industrial change is a reshuffle. Twenty years ago, it was the Internet; ten years ago, it was mobile Internet; today, it is AI. It is certain that under the new wave, a new group of VCs will surely emerge.

The tides rise and fall, and a new chapter has begun.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment Circle" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Yang Jiyun and published by 36Kr with permission.