Zhichao Li
Executive Partner of Information Technology Division
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- Full Name
- Zhichao Li (李志超)
- Title
- Executive Partner / Investment Director, Information Technology Division
- Firm
- Grains Valley Venture Capital (北京磐谷创业投资有限责任公司 / Beijing Grains Valley Capital)
- Firm Type
- Venture capital firm (angel and early-stage investing)
- Investment Stage
- Angel / Seed through Series B
- Sector Focus
- Information technology — including AI, quantum computing, mobility/internet platforms, and other frontier tech
- Geographic Focus
- China (primarily), with the firm also making occasional U.S. investments
- Location
- Beijing, China
Background
Zhichao Li leads the Information Technology practice at Grains Valley Venture Capital (磐谷创投), where he is described as Executive Partner of the firm's Information Technology Division and serves as its Investment Director (信息技术投资总监). He holds a bachelor's degree in Automation from Beijing University of Chemical Technology and a master's degree in Management from Tsinghua University.
Before moving into venture capital, Li worked at China Mobile and at Yuhai Securities (Hong Kong), giving him an operating-plus-capital-markets background that he now applies to technology investing. According to his firm profile, he has more than a decade of experience in early-stage information-technology investing and has directed decision-making and management for early-stage projects exceeding RMB 250 million.
Grains Valley Venture Capital was founded in 2007 and, since 2012, has concentrated on frontier-technology venture investing. Headquartered in Beijing with additional presence in Shenzhen and Shanghai, the firm invests across information technology, life sciences, clean technology, and artificial intelligence, typically from the angel/seed stage through Series B. The firm has made roughly 80+ investments and counts speech-AI company Unisound (云知声) among its portfolio unicorns; another portfolio company, Hesai Technology, listed on NASDAQ in February 2023.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Focuses on information technology deals within Grains Valley's broader frontier-tech mandate (IT, AI, life sciences, clean tech).
- Invests at early stages — angel/seed through Series B — consistent with the firm's stated "seed round to Series B" strategy for companies in emerging industries.
- Backs hard-tech and platform IT businesses: his named deals span mobility/internet platforms (Hellobike), speech AI (Unisound), and quantum computing (Origin Quantum).
- Track record emphasizes leading and managing early-stage capital deployment (RMB 250M+ directed across early projects), suggesting a hands-on, lead-investor posture rather than passive follow-on checks.
Notable Investments
- Hellobike (哈啰出行) — Chinese shared-mobility and local-services platform; one of Li's led IT deals.
- Unisound (云知声) — AI/speech-recognition company and a Grains Valley portfolio unicorn (reached unicorn status in 2018).
- Origin Quantum (本源量子) — Chinese quantum-computing pioneer (maker of the "Wukong" superconducting quantum computer); began Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market) IPO tutoring in 2025 at a reported valuation around RMB 6.9 billion.
- Xiaozhuanzi (小转铃) — early-stage IT company among Li's led investments.
- *Broader firm portfolio he is associated with:* CanSinoBio (康希诺生物), Haplox (海普洛斯), Hesai Technology (NASDAQ-listed, Feb 2023), and BridGene Biosciences (firm's investment dated Oct 16, 2025).
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