Nathan Yu, former vice-president of China-based carmaker Geely Holding Group, has joined Nio Capital, the corporate venturing unit backed by smart electric car developer Nio, as its fourth managing partner.
At Nio Capital, Yu will join fellow managing partners William Li – also Nio’s founder and chairman – Ian (Yan) Zhu, who was formerly at Tsinghua Holdings’ Tsing Capital unit, and Junyi Zhang, who used to head automotive activities at consultancy Roland Berger China.
Nio Capital was founded in 2016 with a RMB10bn ($1.5bn) fund co-sponsored by Nio, investment manager Hillhouse Capital and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital
The fund has also struck partnerships with UK-listed oil major BP and internet-of-things technology provider G7 as it prepares to close a reported $500m offshore fund
Companies that have received funding from Nio Capital include KDC, Momenta, Ronbay Lithium Battery Material, Ur Car, Shouqi Limousine and Chauffeur, Pony.ai and Auto Link World.
Yu had worked at Geely for four years and was responsible for its international business, including the acquisitions of automotive manufacturers Proton and Lotus, in Malaysia and the UK respectively, as well as US-based flying car developer Terrafugia.
– Photo courtesy of Nio Capital.