Gaocheng Capital, a growth stage-focused private equity firm headquartered in Beijing, has hit the final close of its debut fund at over $300 million, according to a company announcement.
The final close came a week after DealStreetAsia reported that the firm raised $235.1 million for the second close of its debut fund – Gaocheng Fund I LP. The fund first raised over $100 million in January 2019.
Fund I attracted commitments from institutional investors, including university endowment funds, charitable funds, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and insurance companies around the world, the company said.
Founding partner Jing Hong said the backing of the world’s top LPs only underscores investors’ optimism on the huge opportunities in China’s technological program and digital transformation of enterprises.
Jing was a former partner at private equity firm Hillhouse Capital and held the managing director role at American private equity firm General Atlantic’s Beijing office before starting Gaocheng Capital.
The firm operates a dual-currency fund focusing on growth-stage opportunities in technological innovation and enterprise service sectors, according to a statement on its website.
In February, Gaocheng Capital led a $20 million Series C round for enterprise training platform 51CTO. The firm made its largest investment as the anchor investor in AI unicorn Yitu Technology’s $200 million Series C+ round in 2018.
The firm is also one of the first private equity investment funds in China to sign the principle of responsible investment of the United Nations and implement the ESG investment philosophy.
Gaocheng Capital now joins a list of China-based and China-focused firms that have closed funds since the start of this year. In January, China-focused PE firm Ascendent Capital Partners was reported to have raised over $1 billion for its third investment vehicle – Ascendent Capital Partners II.
Sharewin Investment also reached the first closing of a new fund at $72 million for investment in the artificial intelligence industry in China while Tsing-Yuan Capital closed two RMB-denominated funds to expand its capital pool of over $1 billion for investment opportunities in China.
Chinese alternative investment management CDH Investments also closed its sixth USD-denominated PE fund – CDH Fund VI – after securing $1.5 billion in capital commitments. Also this month, Chinese investment firm Plum Ventures secured about $50 million for a USD-denominated fund.
