A venture capital group has emerged from the 985 universities in Wuhan.

Wuhan Optics Valley is bustling with activity.

On the weekend, the 17th Entrepreneurial 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 the 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 strong 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 renowned for engineering shows a rather "tough yet tender" side: a group of investors who graduated from HUST are enthusiastic about supporting their fellow alumni, and they help to realize the entrepreneurial dreams of their schoolmates based on natural trust.

Three HUST Schoolmates

Created a Ten - Thousand - Fold Return

It has long been a well - known story in the venture capital circle that Gong Hongjia once invested in his schoolmates and reaped a ten - thousand - fold return.

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 Desheng radio business. And with the listing of AsiaInfo on the US stock market, he achieved his first investment exit through an IPO.

In the same year, two of his HUST classmates approached him. Old classmates Chen Zongnian and Hu Yangzhong left state - owned enterprises 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 and not favored by most people. Facing these two hard - working technical old classmates, Gong Hongjia didn't refuse or haggle much. He resolutely 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 had previously worked.

Thus, an angel investment that would later be written into the annals of China's venture capital history was born.

In 2010, Hikvision was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Public information shows that through share reduction and exit, Gong Hongjia has cumulatively recovered about 30 billion yuan. Currently, he still directly holds a 10.5% stake in Hikvision, with a corresponding market value of over 30 billion yuan.

The return of over twenty - thousand - fold is enviable. But 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 Hikvision management team that if the company performed well in the future, he would transfer a 15% stake to the management team at the original investment cost. So, on the eve of the IPO, Gong Hongjia transferred a 15% stake to the Hikvision executive team for 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 make concessions 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 generously gave them the confidence to be the protagonists.

They All Graduated from HUST

Many years later, after achieving great success, when Gong Hongjia took his daughter back to the HUST campus, he sighed, "Many of the entrepreneurs I've invested in and who have brought me huge returns are my alumni."

This remark reveals the strong gene of outstanding entrepreneurs at HUST.

Let's first feel it through a set of data: More than 20,000 students at HUST participate in various discipline competitions every year. A three - level science and innovation system of "college - university - national" has been established here, 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, KeMa Technology, the leading company in the field of domestic advanced ceramic materials, was founded by Liu Xianbing, 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 leaders 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. 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 Technology, 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 taking over the baton of entrepreneurship.

Manus, which caused a stir in the technology circle in March this year, was founded by Xiao Hong, a post - 90s HUST student. He accumulated rich entrepreneurial experience on the HUST campus during his university years. Li Xue, the founder of Ladder Medical, studied at the School of Biomedical Engineering at HUST for her undergraduate degree. After further studies in the United States, she founded Ladder Medical, creating the second company globally to enter the clinical trial stage of invasive brain - computer interfaces.

From generation to generation, the spirit of entrepreneurship continues.

Thoroughbred Horses and Their Bole

Appreciating Each Other

Of course, it's not just about "thoroughbred horses" 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., all graduated from 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 Banyan 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 everywhere.

There are also female figures in HUST's venture capital map. Lu Qinchao, the founding partner of Danlu Capital, graduated from the School of Clinical Medicine of Tongji Medical College at HUST. 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, is also from HUST.

Among the interactions, the stories of alumni helping alumni keep emerging.

LeDong Robot, which submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year, was founded by HUST alumni Zhou Wei and Guo Gaihua. Huaye Tiancheng, led by an alumnus, invested in the A - round and continued to increase its investment later. In addition, Huaye Tiancheng has also invested in more than 10 alumni - owned enterprises such as Innoscience, KeMa Materials, Juxin Microelectronics, Vertilite, LeDong Robot, Awinic, PPIO, etc.

Recently, Gong Hongjia is also eager to help an old HUST alumnus fulfill his dream. "I have an irresistible and intense urge deep in my soul to help 92 - year - old Academician Pan Yuan of the Institute of Magnetic Confinement Fusion at HUST complete his mission of achieving magnetic - confinement controlled fusion on Earth to promote human peaceful development." Academician Pan Yuan graduated from HUST in the 1950s and taught at HUST for decades, devoting his entire 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 Bole and thoroughbred horses.

Looking back, this is also a touching scene in China's science and technology field. The real value of hard - tech investment lies in the long - term support of alumni capital. Through cross - cycle and multi - round support, they jointly withstand the ups and downs on the entrepreneurial journey.

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.