5Y Capital Research
Investment Thesis
5Y Capital (五源资本), formerly known as Morningside Venture Capital, is one of China's most established venture capital firms, founded in 2008 by Richard Liu and Ken Shi with backing from the Morningside Group (the Hong Kong Chan family office). The firm rebranded from Morningside Venture Capital to 5Y Capital in 2020. Its stated thesis, translated from the firm's own site, is to "seek out, support, and inspire lonely entrepreneurs, providing support from spirit to all business operations," believing that when founders others see as crazy are trusted, the world becomes a different place. In practice this has meant being an early, patient, and often lead backer of category-defining Chinese technology companies across consumer internet, hard tech, and now AI, frequently entering at seed or Series A and staying through IPO.
Sector Focus
5Y Capital is a generalist, multi-stage Chinese venture firm rather than a narrow sector specialist. Its portfolio spans: consumer apps and social platforms (Kuaishou, Soul, ShareChat, Bigo, Musical.ly, MAIMAI, Xiaoice), media and entertainment (Sohu, iFeng, Huya, Lizhi, Focus Media), e-commerce and retail (ATRenew, HotMaxx, Halara, BUSY FOR YOU snack retail, Modern China Tea Shop), enterprise software (Kingsoft Office, Deepexi, Sensors Data, PingCAP), healthcare and life sciences (WeDoctor, Medbanks, Taimei, XtalPi, AboGen, Accutar Biotech), robotics and embodied AI (Hai Robotics, Agilex Robotics, Noitom Robotics, Differential Robotics), mobility and autonomous driving (Xpeng Motors, Pony.ai, DiDi, Xpeng Huitian flying cars), and semiconductors and AI infrastructure (Moore Threads, Vastai Technologies, AkroStar, Jaguar Micro, Horizon Robotics). Since 2023 the firm has leaned heavily into generative AI and embodied intelligence, backing Moonshot AI (Kimi), Dify, XVERSE, and multiple humanoid/embodied robotics startups.
Stage Focus
5Y Capital invests across the full lifecycle, from seed/angel through growth and pre-IPO, and has historically been a first institutional check for many of its marquee names (Kuaishou at angel in 2011, Horizon Robotics at seed in 2015). The firm is now formalizing a distinct growth-stage strategy: it is reportedly planning to launch a dedicated $600 million growth fund in 2027, on top of its existing 5Y Capital Growth Fund I vehicle already disclosed in Horizon Robotics' IPO filings.
Check Size
Public check-size data is limited. Given a reported ~$5 billion in assets under management and participation ranging from small angel rounds to $150M+ growth rounds (e.g., Horizon Robotics Series C), typical checks likely span roughly $1M at the earliest stages to $50M+ in growth and follow-on rounds. Confidence on precise check-size bands is low without a direct disclosure from the firm.
Lead Tendency
5Y Capital both leads and follows depending on stage and relationship. It led early rounds in several flagship companies (Kuaishou angel, Horizon Robotics seed, Xpeng Series A+, Pony.ai Series B) but is frequently a participating existing shareholder in later, larger syndicates (Dify's 2026 Pre-Series A led by HSG; Differential Robotics' 2026 A2 round led by Puhua Capital; Moonshot AI's $500M Series C led by IDG).
Recent Activity
5Y Capital has remained highly active through 2025 and 2026: it participated in Dify's $30M Series Pre-A in March 2026 (alongside HSG, GL Ventures, and Alt-Alpha Capital), increased its stake in Differential Robotics' A2 round (hundreds of millions of RMB) around September 2026, oversubscribed as an existing shareholder in Moonshot AI's $500M Series C in December 2025, and backed Noitom Robotics' Pre-A+ round in December 2025. Portfolio company Moore Threads completed a STAR Market IPO in December 2025, becoming China's first listed full-function GPU company. The firm also disclosed plans for a new $600 million growth fund targeted for 2027. Several partners were recognized on 2025 "top investor" lists from ChinaVenture, Forbes China, and Jiemian (which ranked 5Y Capital 5th among China's top VC firms), signaling sustained deal flow and reputation in the market.
Portfolio Highlights
5Y Capital's portfolio includes numerous publicly listed and category-defining companies: Kuaishou (1024.HK), Xiaomi (1810.HK), Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV / 9868.HK), Pony.ai (NASDAQ: PONY), SenseTime (0020.HK), Horizon Robotics (9660.HK), Kingsoft Office (688111.SH), Moore Threads (688795.SH, newly IPO'd), Trip.com (NASDAQ: TCOM), Huya (NYSE: HUYA), Lizhi (NASDAQ: LIZI), XtalPi (2228.HK), ATRenew (NYSE: RERE), Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU), and Xunlei (NASDAQ: XNET). Notable private/growth-stage names include Moonshot AI (Kimi), Dify, DiDi, Bigo, ShareChat, and PingCAP. This breadth of IPOs and large outcomes across two decades makes 5Y Capital one of the most consistently successful venture investors in China.
Team
- Bo Zhang — Managing Director
- Cloris You — Managing Director
- Richard Liu — Founding Partner
- Ken Shi — Founding Partner
- Fisher Zhang — Partner
- Elwin Yuan — Partner
- Levi Liu — Partner
- Xing Meng — Partner (active in robotics/embodied AI deals, e.g., Differential Robotics, Noitom)
- Ted Jing (Xutian Jing) — Partner (named to FOFWEEKLY's 2025 "100 Youth Leaders in Investment")
- Victor Jin — Partner
Founding partners Richard Liu and Ken Shi, along with partners Qin Liu, Fisher Zhang, and Levi Liu, were named to multiple 2025 "top investor" rankings (ChinaVenture, Forbes China), underscoring the depth and continuity of the senior investment team.
Decision Process
As a large, multi-partner institutional fund with distinct founding partners, managing directors, and sector-focused partners, 5Y Capital operates a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo-GP model, consistent with its scale (~$5B AUM) and multi-office structure.
Founder Preferences
5Y Capital's public messaging and portfolio pattern point to a strong preference for technically deep, mission-driven, often first-time or "underestimated" founders — its own tagline centers on backing entrepreneurs others see as "crazy" before they are validated by the broader market. In robotics and AI, the firm has gravitated toward academically credentialed technical founders (e.g., Zhejiang University professor Gao Fei at Differential Robotics, Columbia robotics PhD Yuhang Hu at Shouxing Technology) as well as serial entrepreneurs from major Chinese tech companies (ByteDance alumni, gaming-industry veterans).
Geographic Focus
5Y Capital is headquartered in Shanghai with additional offices in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, and its portfolio is overwhelmingly China-focused, though it has occasionally backed companies with international ambitions or footprints (ShareChat in India, Halara as a US-facing DTC apparel brand). The firm is a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).