This Project 985 university based in Tianjin has made a comeback to the VC circle.
After several years, this 985 university in Tianjin has made a comeback.
The primary market is growing increasingly closer to universities.
Since 2026, news about universities across the country officially announcing the establishment of funds has emerged frequently, including many new university LP players making their debut in the primary market for the first time, such as the Renmin University of China Education Foundation, East China University of Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), Yanshan University, and Ningbo Eastern Institute of Technology. In addition, some university-affiliated LPs that were active in the early years have returned to the capital circle after years of silence.
The Nankai University-affiliated system in Tianjin is such a long-lost old friend. Now, it has returned with a group of sci-tech innovation funds.
Establishment of the Nankai University Sci-Tech Innovation Fund Group
From 0 to 1, from 1 to 10, and from 10 to 100, a sci-tech innovation fund group operating in successive relay modes has been launched in Tianjin.
On October 16, at the 2026 Tianjin Wudadao Financial Forum, Tianjin Yunxin Haihe Venture Capital Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) — the Nankai University Alumni Fund was successfully signed. Among the parties, Jinnan State-owned Investment served as the capital contributor, and signed the agreement jointly with Tianjin Angel Parent Fund, Nankai alumni and the fund manager Gongneng Rixin.
It is reported that the Yunxin Haihe Fund has a target total size of 500 million yuan, with the first phase of subscribed capital reaching 100 million yuan. Gongneng Rixin, the fund manager, is a core institution under Hisheng Capital, and most members of its management team are Nankai alumni.
In terms of investment directions, the fund focuses on strategic emerging tracks including new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, new-generation information technology, biomedicine and healthcare, and strives to support sci-tech enterprises founded by university scientific research teams, teachers, students and alumni, as well as enterprises for the transformation of university scientific and technological achievements.
On the same day, the Matihu Lake Proof-of-Concept Fund was established alongside it. Together with existing funds such as the Xinkai Lake Fund, a closely connected Nankai-affiliated sci-tech innovation fund group was officially launched.
It is reported that this fund group can cover the full-cycle sci-tech financial needs of Nankai University's scientific research teams and enterprises in Tianjin Sci-Tech Innovation Park of Universities, covering stages from startup initiation, scientific research achievement transformation, pilot scale-up to industrialization implementation.
Bi Guodong, General Partner and Chairman of Matihu Lake Proof-of-Concept Fund, said: "The Matihu Lake Proof-of-Concept Fund focuses on the '0 to 1' stage. After the productization and market verification are completed, the projects will be transferred to the Xinkai Lake Fund and Yunxin Haihe Fund for relay support at the 1 to 10 and 10 to 100 stages, so as to promote the achievements to enter a broader market."
For the Nankai-affiliated system, this round of fund layout is significantly different from its previous capital contribution. In the early years, Nankai University mainly used its education foundation as an LP to make capital contributions, which were concentrated in 2018-2020, and it successively participated in institutions including Xinyu Junrui Investment Center (Limited Partnership), Beijing Kunshi Huanyu Phase III Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Beijing Zhihui Jiale Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), and Jiaxing Gongneng Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership).
It is worth noting that the several rounds of capital contributions in the early years were dominated by market-oriented asset allocation, with the purpose of maintaining and increasing the value of the education foundation's assets. The establishment of this fund group, however, takes investing in the transformation of the university's own achievements as a clear orientation.
Wen Biao, Co-founder of Xinkai Lake Fund, said: "In the next step, we will call on more Nankai alumni, especially those engaged in public offering and private equity investment, to set up more funds to boost the development of Tianjin Sci-Tech Innovation Park of Universities and Tianjin."
The University Fund Matrix Takes Shape at an Accelerated Pace
Nankai University is a typical example of universities acting as LPs to make capital contributions, but it is not an isolated case.
As we all know, in this technology-driven capital cycle, top Chinese universities are stepping into the field of equity investment at an unprecedented density and depth.
Driven by local governments, university sci-tech innovation funds are emerging intensively. According to case statistics, we found that June this year ushered in a concentrated outbreak period of capital contributions from universities.
In that month, the Renmin University of China Education Foundation announced that it would act as an LP for the first time, contributing capital to participate in the establishment of Shenzhen Chongtou No.1 Major Industrial Ecological Development Private Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), with a registered fund size of 3.94 billion yuan. In the same month, the East China University of Science and Technology Alumni Sci-Tech Innovation Fund was established, marking the official debut of East China University of Science and Technology in the primary market. At the same time, the first special fund for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements with university participation in Jiangsu province — Nanyong Scientific and Technological Achievement Transformation Venture Capital Fund (Nanjing Qixia) Partnership (Limited Partnership) — was launched. This fund was jointly initiated and established by Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, Nanjing University and Qixia District of Nanjing.
In addition, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, East China University of Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Yanshan University, Sun Yat-sen University have all been active successively this year, appearing in the primary market through methods such as relying on university education foundations, alumni platforms or direct capital contributions.
In terms of capital investment directions, these funds generally target the advantageous disciplines of their own universities, or cooperate with local capital platforms to invest in local advantageous industries.
In fact, in the process of acting as LPs, universities have not only released innovation vitality, but also provided extremely scarce high-quality long-term capital for the fundraising market. Although compared with the mature systems in Europe and America, China's university funds are still in the exploration stage, they are developing rapidly with increasingly diversified paths.
A distinct feature is that top universities are no longer satisfied with a single form, but have built a capital matrix covering the full cycle of achievement transformation.
Taking Shanghai Jiao Tong University as an example, in April 2026, it simultaneously launched the 2 billion-yuan second phase of the Future Industry Parent Fund and the 130 million-yuan "Super Jiaozi" Student Startup Seed Fund. Together with the previously launched AI Future Fund, it has formed a full-chain layout of "attracting talents through public welfare — seed incubation — industrial expansion".
Tianjin University is also a typical case. It builds a "parent fund + sub-fund group" matrix with the Beiyang Haitang Fund as the core, and jointly initiated the 5 billion-yuan Tianjin Kai An Haihe Haitang Sci-Tech Innovation Parent Fund. By selecting sub-funds at seed, angel, sci-tech innovation and growth stages for capital matching, it aims to form a fund group of about 15 billion yuan.
Fudan University, within just two years, has completed three key steps from local development to nationwide layout and then to overseas expansion, and formed a diversified lineup of "parent fund + direct investment + overseas fund".
The accelerated formation of the university fund matrix is injecting longer-cycle and more stable patient capital into the primary market.
Conclusion
With their long-term capital, innovation resources and social influence, university LPs will occupy a more important position in the fundraising market and become a new force driving the sustained and healthy development of China's equity investment market.
In the future, as more universities participate in the equity investment market by setting up funds, the pattern of the fundraising market will be further diversified.
This article is from the WeChat official account "FOFWEEKLY", author: Ling Xiu, published with authorization from 36Kr.