Nio Capital, the China-based venture capital firm co-formed by electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio, closed its second vehicle, Eve One Fund II, at about $400m yesterday.
The fund’s new and existing limited partners included unnamed insurance firms, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds, family offices, pension funds and foundations from China, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.
For two of the new LPs, Eve One Fund II represents their first commitment to a China-based fund. It is double the size of its dollar-denominated predecessor, Eve One Fund, which was closed in 2019.
Co-founded by Nio (then known as NextEV), VC firm Sequoia Capital and hedge fund manager Hillhouse Capital in 2016, Nio Capital’s first renminbi-denominated vehicle had a target size of RMB10bn ($1.5bn). It focuses on early and middle-stage energy, mobility, supply chain and deep technology developers.
Nio’s founder, chairman and chief executive, William Li said: “Our mission is to sustain and advance humankind via investing in innovations. We are dedicated to fostering a sustainable future with like-minded investors and visionary entrepreneurs.”
Ian Zhu, managing partner at Nio Capital, added: “Over the past five years, Nio Capital has become an institutionalised investment firm with the ability to integrate industry resources with financial goals.
“We see exciting opportunities at the crossover of auto, technology and energy sectors, and will continue to focus our investments on decarbonisation and digitalisation.”
Self-driving technology producers Momenta, Pony.ai and Inceptio are among Nio Capital’s portfolio companies, as are lidar system developer Innovusion, EV charging services provider NewLink and Tuhu, which has created an online platform that provides access to car maintenance services.
Image courtesy of Nio Inc.
