Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 130th Anniversary: Half of the Venture Capital Community is in a Frenzy
Today (April 8th), Shanghai Jiao Tong University held a grand ceremony to celebrate its 130th anniversary, attracting the attention of the venture capital circle.
From industry leaders like CATL and Mihoyo to the potential IPOs worth hundreds of billions of companies like Muxi, Biren Technology, and MiniMax, and then to emerging startups like Qiongche Intelligence, Turing Quantum, and Wuwen Xinqiong - generations of Jiao Tong alumni have left their marks on China's technology landscape.
"No matter how far we go, we always come back to our alma mater." Over the past 130 years, the spirit of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has been passed down from generation to generation. Just as the three founders of Mihoyo, Liu Wei, Cai Haoyu, and Luo Yuhao, fulfilled their promises made at Jiao Tong University, since the beginning of this year, the donations from Shanghai Jiao Tong alumni have exceeded 3 billion yuan, setting a new record in the history of alumni donations in China.
Beyond the numbers, there is a more heart - warming and long - lasting narrative: Graduates from twenty or even thirty years ago are now coming back to give back, supporting the next wave of technological innovation.
The Largest Donation Wave in History
The wave of donations from Shanghai Jiao Tong alumni has gone viral.
The most eye - catching donor is Zeng Yuqun, an alumnus of the class of 1989. A native of Fujian, Zeng Yuqun was admitted to the Department of Naval Architecture Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1985. At the end of 2011, he spun off the automotive power division of ATL and founded CATL in his hometown of Ningde, creating a giant with a market value of trillions today.
Over the years, Zeng Yuqun has always remembered to give back. He not only promoted the establishment of a research center between CATL and his alma mater, was appointed as a school trustee, donated to set up the "Zeng Yuqun Education Fund", but also served as the honorary dean of the School of Future Technology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of his alma mater, he made another phenomenal donation, breaking the donation record of Shanghai Jiao Tong University -
In late March, CATL announced that its controlling shareholder, Xiamen Ruiting, plans to donate 5 million shares of the company's stock to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Education Development Foundation, with a corresponding market value of over 2 billion yuan. All the proceeds and funds generated from the donated shares will be fully injected into the "Zeng Yuqun Education Development Fund" to support the development of education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
In April, Shanghai Jiao Tong University received another heartfelt gift - the founding team of Mihoyo (Liu Wei, Cai Haoyu, and Luo Yuhao) jointly donated to support the establishment of the "AI Future Cornerstone" Fund, injecting new impetus into the school's exploration in the cutting - edge field of artificial intelligence.
Looking back twenty years ago, Liu Wei, Cai Haoyu, and Luo Yuhao from the same dormitory got together to tinker with the "anime - style" games that most people didn't understand at that time. They founded Mihoyo in a 50 - square - meter office and gradually moved from the campus dormitory to the global market. Recalling the past, Liu Wei sighed that it was the school's tolerance and understanding of students that allowed him to dream boldly and dare to pursue his dreams, which led to the entrepreneurial story of Mihoyo starting from the Jiao Tong dormitory.
That's not all. During the anniversary celebration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University witnessed the most concentrated wave of large - scale donations in the history of Chinese universities.
The latest donation comes from Yang Yuanqing, the chairman of Lenovo Group and an alumnus of the class of 1981 majoring in computer science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He donated 200 million yuan personally to support the scientific research innovation and talent cultivation in the field of artificial intelligence at the school. Meanwhile, Lenovo Group reached a new round of strategic cooperation with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, planning to invest 300 million yuan in the next five years, focusing on three major directions: scientific research cooperation, talent cooperation, and investment incubation.
Previously, in February, Qi Shi, the chairman of East Money Information and an alumnus of the class of 1993 majoring in materials engineering at Jiao Tong University, donated 20 million shares of East Money Information (with a market value of about 450 million yuan); Ji Qi, the founder of Huazhu Group, an alumnus of the class of 1989 majoring in engineering mechanics and the class of 1992 majoring in mechanical engineering at Jiao Tong University, donated 100 million yuan to his alma mater; in March, Jing Xiandong, the chairman of Ant Group, and his wife donated 130 million yuan to Shanghai Jiao Tong University to specially set up the "AI Future Cornerstone Fund"; Mao Chengyu, an alumnus of the class of 1989 and the founding partner of Yunqi Capital, led a team to donate to his alma mater to support the construction of new liberal arts empowered by AI, and so on.
According to a rough calculation, the total amount of publicly disclosed donations of over 100 million yuan to Shanghai Jiao Tong University has exceeded 3 billion yuan, making it one of the universities with the most concentrated large - scale donations in the country.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University: A Breeding Ground for Hundred - Billion IPOs
The IPO boom of Shanghai Jiao Tong - affiliated companies is vivid in our memory.
On January 9th, the large - model company MiniMax officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with its market value exceeding HK$100 billion on the first day. Even more astonishing is that after its listing, MiniMax witnessed a sky - rocketing price increase - its stock price soared more than five times in three months, and its market value once exceeded HK$300 billion.
Behind this scene is Yan Junjie, a part - time doctoral supervisor at the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The venture capital circle is familiar with his story: He worked his way up from an intern at SenseTime to the vice - president and in 2022, he embarked on the AGI entrepreneurship journey, creating the fastest IPO of a Chinese AI company.
Also in January, Biren Technology listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the "first GPU stock in Hong Kong", with its market value once exceeding HK$100 billion. The Jiao Tong DNA is even stronger here: Zhang Wen, the leader of Biren Technology, is the vice - president of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Artificial Intelligence Alumni Association; Liang Xiaoyao, the co - founder, is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Xu Lingjie, the co - founder and former president, is an alumnus of the Department of Electronic Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Not long before, Muxi, also one of the "Four GPU Dragons", successfully listed on the STAR Market. On the first day of listing, its stock price rose by more than 690%, and its market value reached a peak of 350 billion yuan. Behind Muxi also looms the figure of Shanghai Jiao Tong University - Peng Li, the co - founder and CTO, is an alumnus of the School of Integrated Circuits at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, having completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate studies there.
Within just one month, three hundred - billion IPOs were born from Shanghai Jiao Tong - affiliated companies.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's technology landscape. According to the statistics of "Jiao Tong New Upper Courtyard", a total of 19 Jiao Tong - affiliated companies went public in 2025, with an IPO almost every month: Haibo Sichuang, the "first stock in the energy storage system"; Yunzhisheng, the "first stock in AGI"; Yousheng Co., Ltd., the leader in lightweight aluminum alloy; Delijia, the leader in wind power transmission... These leading enterprises cover multiple core links of the current strategic needs of the technology industry.
"If Shanghai Jiao Tong University were regarded as a provincial - level administrative region, the number of its listed companies in 2025 would rank sixth, only after Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Beijing, and Shandong." Its significance is self - evident.
When looking at those super IPOs, investors from Shanghai Jiao Tong University are particularly active.
As in the rise of MiniMax, the figures of Shanghai Jiao Tong - affiliated investors can be seen throughout: Shen Nanpeng, the founding and executive partner of Sequoia Capital China, is an alumnus of the class of 1985 majoring in applied mathematics; Liu Wei, the co - founder of Mihoyo, is an alumnus of the class of 2005 majoring in information engineering and the class of 2009 majoring in communication and information systems; Mao Chengyu, the founding partner of Yunqi Capital, is an alumnus of the class of 1989 majoring in industrial foreign trade at the School of Management; Huang Mingming, the founding partner of Mingshi Venture Capital, is an alumnus of the class of 1994 majoring in industrial electrical automation at the School of Electrical Engineering; Wen Zhi, the general manager of Shanghai Guotou Pioneer, and Fei Fei, the general manager of Shanghai Guotou Futeng Capital, are all alumni of Shanghai Jiao Tong University...
All in all, the tradition of "Jiao Tong alumni investing in Jiao Tong - affiliated startups" is gradually taking shape:
Moore Threads has received joint investments from Sequoia Capital China (Shen Nanpeng), Wuyuan Capital (Liu Qin, Shi Jianming, Zhang Fei), Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (Yang Yuanqing), Houxue Capital (Hou Haoxiang) and other Jiao Tong - affiliated investors;
Behind Muxi stand a group of Jiao Tong - affiliated investors such as Sequoia Capital China, Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Futeng Capital, Guanghe Venture Capital (Zhu Jia), and Guotou Futeng;
Biren Technology has received support from Jiao Tong - affiliated investors such as Yaotu Capital (Yang Guang) and Guotou Pioneer;
In Tian Shu Zhixin, Sequoia Capital China, Fourth Paradigm (Dai Wenyuan) and other Jiao Tong - affiliated investors are important shareholders;
Zhipu has grown rapidly with the joint support of Legend Capital (Zhu Linan), Ant Group (Jing Xiandong), Guanghe Venture Capital, Sequoia Capital China, etc.
The list goes on.
Why Shanghai Jiao Tong University as a Model for China's Technology Narrative?
Looking back on the century - long history of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, it can be regarded as a brief history of China's technological rise.
From the earliest internal combustion engines, electric motors, and Chinese typewriters, to the first ten - thousand - ton ship, the first nuclear submarine, and the first hovercraft in New China, and then to the first - generation fighter jets, the first launch vehicle, and the first artificial satellite independently designed - behind these milestone "firsts" stand the figures of Shanghai Jiao Tong alumni. This top - tier university has cultivated more than 400,000 outstanding talents of various kinds to date.
In the era when hard - technology entrepreneurship has become the mainstream, the unique advantages hidden in its profound science and engineering background are gradually emerging. As more and more highly - educated teachers and students step into the front - line of venture capital, the Jiao Tong - affiliated "understanding of technology and emphasis on scientific research" gene is naturally transformed into the ability to identify opportunities and solve problems.
As we can see: Fourier Intelligence, Zhenqu Technology, Shi De Technology, Jiushi Intelligence, Yunjing Intelligence, Qiongche Intelligence, Turing Quantum, CATL Times Intelligence, Hanbo Semiconductor, Wuwen Xinqiong... Shanghai Jiao Tong - affiliated companies are rich in hard - technology unicorns.
"Half of the venture capital circle consists of Shanghai Jiao Tong alumni" is not an exaggeration, which is inseparable from the nurturing of the Jiao Tong University's mother fund. At the end of 2021, to support technology projects originating from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University established the "Shanghai Jiao Tong University Future Industry Mother Fund", becoming the first guiding mother fund in China initiated by a domestic university to support the transformation of the school's scientific research achievements and the entrepreneurship of alumni.
By the end of last year, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Future Industry Mother Fund had leveraged nearly 1.8 billion yuan in real funds and invested in more than 50 Jiao Tong - affiliated companies. Not long ago, the second phase of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Future Industry Mother Fund has been launched, with an estimated scale of 1 billion yuan, aiming to guide more excellent institutions and patient capital to pay attention to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, so that "scientists dare to act, capital dares to invest, and enterprises dare to venture."
And the flow of money often represents the trend. Different from the previous donations that mainly focused on building buildings and setting up scholarships, this wave of donation funds to Shanghai Jiao Tong University clearly points to more cutting - edge directions such as AI, medical - engineering cross - field, and new energy.
This may be a model of the combination of "industry, academia, research, and investment": Alumni have earned wealth in these fields and then accurately returned the funds to the school's scientific research laboratories to train the next generation of talents and tackle cutting - edge technologies, thus forming a closed - loop of "donation - scientific research - industry - feedback".
In a way, this is also a collective narrative about China's hard - technology era.
The reason why the story of Jiao Tong - affiliated companies is touching is not that it produces a lot of rich people, but that it demonstrates a possibility: When academia, capital, and industry are truly integrated, how solid a framework can technological idealism build.
"Even a short distance cannot be covered without taking steps; even a small thing cannot be accomplished without taking action." As Ding Kuiling, the president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, great undertakings are often rooted in the perseverance after making clear choices and achieved through unremitting efforts step by step.
After 130 years, the spirit of Shanghai Jiao Tong University still flows.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment Circle" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Zhou Jiali and republished by 36Kr with authorization.