Source Code Capital Launches Yisu Division for Seed Investment

Source Code Capital officially released “Source Code Yisu” on Friday, operating the firm’s seed-stage business independently within the investment system.

Source Code Yisu is led by Zhang Xingchen, the firm’s managing director. Zhang is leading a separate investment team to discover, support and accompany sci-tech entrepreneurs “from zero to one.”

Charlie Cao, Founding Partner of Source Code Capital, said: “Since its establishment in 2014, Source Code Capital has focused on investing in sci-tech driven innovation. Especially in the 2020s, many sci-tech entrepreneurs from zero to one are sprouting. Source Code Yisu hopes to carry on the initial intention of Source Code Capital and to promote the birth and growth of more Chinese tech firms.”

Source Code Capital has invested in more than 140 firms with 20 million yuan or less in the seed stage, including unicorns such as NARWAL, Chu Xin, Ruigu Shop, RELX Technology and Baibu. However, such investments were not operated in a systematic way, lacked corresponding methodology, and only accounted for a small proportion of the total investment.

Zhang Xingchen joined Source Code Capital in 2014. He focuses on and invests in industrial digitalization, enterprise services, robotics, semiconductors, AR/VR and other fields. He has a deep understanding of entrepreneurs, and will lead investments in the science and technology field from zero to one.

The name “Yisu” is intended to evoke “a grain of corn in the wide sea.” In his speech at the launch event, Zhang said, “We willingly set foot on the mountains and the sea to discover a precious seed, and such a seed contains the entrepreneur and our firm belief.”

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Each member of Yisu’s investment team has at least three years of relevant experience, with diverse backgrounds and fast decision-making. During the pilot phase in the first half of 2022, Yisu invested in more than 10 companies with an average decision time of less than a week. The companies it invested in have included those that manufacture aircraft engine blade materials through a new paradigm of AI+materials to replace imported high-end metal materials. They also include those founded by resigning executives from large factories, either to provide AR/VR interaction infrastructure or to build cutting-edge AR/VR content platforms.