14 seed funds back Hangzhou startups in 2026. The city's Six Little Dragons put it on the map. AI and robotics now lead, and state seed money fills out the rest.
Hangzhou seed money runs on AI and robots, and the Six Little Dragons proved the city could ship breakout hardware. Seed funds here write the first big cheque, and most lead the round and take a board seat.
State and ZJU-linked money backs much of the rest, while national VCs travel in to chase the best deals. Cheques typically run US$1M to US$5M, with state tickets written in RMB rather than dollars.
Seed rounds move fast on a thin set of data, so the founders who win are the ones who keep everything ready. Ellty keeps your files in one tracked room, so you share a single link and see exactly who looked.
| Type | Check size | Sector focus | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable Capital (Jisi) | Seed / angel VC | ~US$0.3M-$1M | Deep tech, robotics, hard tech | GeekPark early-stage fund |
| HongShan China Seed Fund | Seed arm | US$1M-$5M | AI, robotics, tech, health | hsgcap.com |
| MPC (Matrix Partners China) | Early-stage VC | US$1M-$5M | Hard tech, robotics, frontier | matrixpartners.com.cn |
| Source Code Capital | Early-stage VC | US$1M-$5M | AI, robotics, manufacturing | sourcecodecap.com |
| Yunqi Partners | Early-stage VC | US$1M-$3M | Enterprise, deep tech, AI | yunqi.vc |
| Linear Capital | Deep-tech early VC | US$1M-$5M | Data, AI, frontier tech | linear.vc |
| Sky9 Capital | Seed-to-growth VC | US$1M-$5M | AI, deep tech, consumer | sky9capital.com |
| ZhenFund | Seed / angel VC | US$0.5M-$3M | AI, robotics, consumer | zhenfund.com |
| Northern Light Venture Capital | Early-stage VC | US$1M-$5M | Deep tech, semis, health | nlvc.com |
| Legend Star | Seed / angel VC | US$0.3M-$2M | Deep tech, AI, health | legendstar.cn |
| Luminous Ventures | Early-stage VC | US$1M-$5M | Deep tech, enterprise, green | lightspeedcp.com |
| Hantan Capital | Institutional seed | Seed cheques, RMB | BCI, deep tech, early | China deep-tech seed fund |
| Hangzhou Hi-Tech Investment | State seed fund | ~US$0.7M-$4M, RMB | AI, robotics, hard tech | Hangzhou state seed fund |
| Zhejiang Silicon Paradise | Homegrown early VC | US$1M-$5M, RMB | TMT, manufacturing, health | Hangzhou early-stage VC |
Keep your seed data room ready for every fund
Seed funds dig into your numbers before they lead. Ellty logs every view so you know who is serious before the call.
Start free 14-day trialWhat a seed investor backs
A seed fund backs early but real proof, looking for a first signal that the product works and that customers care. They usually lead the round and set the terms, and most take a board seat so they can help shape the next year.
They also need a market large enough to justify a venture return, and a clean fundraising file makes that case far easier to read. Ellty gives each fund one tracked link to that file, so you can see who opened your deck first and who is still sitting on it.
Many of the founding teams of these Six Little Dragons emerged directly from the Alibaba orbit, inheriting its strengths in data, engineering culture, and a commercialization mindset.
14 Hangzhou seed investors
1. Variable Capital (Jisi)
Variable Capital wrote Unitree's first angel cheque.
Recent Activity: The angel backer of Unitree Robotics
Sector Focus: Deep tech, robotics, hard tech
Stage Focus: Angel, seed
Check Size: ~US$0.3M-$1M
Location: Beijing
Website: GeekPark early-stage fund
2. HongShan China Seed Fund
HongShan Seed was an early Unitree backer.
Recent Activity: An early backer of Unitree Robotics
Sector Focus: AI, robotics, tech, health
Stage Focus: Seed
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Beijing / Hong Kong
Website: hsgcap.com
3. MPC (Matrix Partners China)
MPC backed Unitree and Manycore at an early stage.
Recent Activity: Backed Unitree and Manycore early
Sector Focus: Hard tech, robotics, frontier
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Beijing / Shanghai
Website: matrixpartners.com.cn
4. Source Code Capital
Source Code is an investor in Unitree Robotics.
Recent Activity: An investor in Unitree Robotics
Sector Focus: AI, robotics, manufacturing
Stage Focus: Seed, early
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Beijing
Website: sourcecodecap.com
5. Yunqi Partners
Yunqi was an early backer of Manycore.
Recent Activity: An early backer of Manycore
LinkedIn: Yunqi Partners LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Enterprise, deep tech, AI
Stage Focus: Seed, early
Check Size: US$1M-$3M
Location: Shanghai
Website: yunqi.vc
6. Linear Capital
Linear is a Manycore shareholder and deep-tech VC.
Recent Activity: A Manycore shareholder and deep-tech VC
LinkedIn: Linear Capital LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Data, AI, frontier tech
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Shanghai
Website: linear.vc
Share one link with every Hangzhou seed fund
Ellty shows when a fund opens your deck. Follow up at the right moment, not days later.
Start free 14-day trial7. Sky9 Capital
Sky9 was an early backer of Moonshot AI.
Recent Activity: An early backer of Moonshot AI
LinkedIn: Sky9 Capital LinkedIn
Sector Focus: AI, deep tech, consumer
Stage Focus: Seed to growth
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Shanghai
Website: sky9capital.com
8. ZhenFund
ZhenFund is a prolific Chinese seed fund.
Recent Activity: Backed 1,000-plus seed companies
LinkedIn: ZhenFund LinkedIn
Sector Focus: AI, robotics, consumer
Stage Focus: Angel, seed
Check Size: US$0.5M-$3M
Location: Beijing
Website: zhenfund.com
9. Northern Light Venture Capital
Northern Light is a long-time hard-tech backer.
Recent Activity: A long-time hard-tech early backer
Sector Focus: Deep tech, semis, health
Stage Focus: Seed, early
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Beijing
Website: nlvc.com
10. Legend Star
Legend Star has backed about 600 early firms.
Recent Activity: Has backed ~600 early companies
LinkedIn: Legend Star LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Deep tech, AI, health
Stage Focus: Angel, seed
Check Size: US$0.3M-$2M
Location: Beijing
Website: legendstar.cn
11. Luminous Ventures
Luminous is the rebranded Lightspeed China team.
Recent Activity: The rebranded Lightspeed China team
Sector Focus: Deep tech, enterprise, green
Stage Focus: Seed, early
Check Size: US$1M-$5M
Location: Shanghai
Website: lightspeedcp.com
12. Hantan Capital
Hantan Capital was a seed backer of BrainCo.
Recent Activity: A seed backer of BrainCo
Sector Focus: BCI, deep tech, early
Stage Focus: Seed
Check Size: Seed cheques, RMB
Location: Shanghai
Website: China deep-tech seed fund
13. Hangzhou Hi-Tech Investment
This state fund channels city money into deep tech.
Recent Activity: Channels city money into deep tech
Sector Focus: AI, robotics, hard tech
Stage Focus: Angel, seed
Check Size: ~US$0.7M-$4M, RMB
Location: Hangzhou
Website: Hangzhou state seed fund
14. Zhejiang Silicon Paradise
Silicon Paradise is a long-time Hangzhou early house.
Recent Activity: A long-time Hangzhou early-stage house
Sector Focus: TMT, manufacturing, health
Stage Focus: Early, growth
Check Size: US$1M-$5M, RMB
Location: Hangzhou
Website: Hangzhou early-stage VC
Who seeded the Six Little Dragons
Hangzhou's Six Little Dragons each drew real seed money, and every one of them had a clear early backer who took the first risk. Variable Capital seeded Unitree well before robotics was fashionable, while Hantan Capital put the first cheque into BrainCo.
IDG and Yunqi backed Manycore at the start, and DeepSeek stood apart by funding itself instead of raising a seed round. A single breakout peer raises the bar for everyone, so funds now travel to Hangzhou to chase the next Dragon early.
Ellty keeps your seed data in one place so you can move as fast as those rounds do. See our Hangzhou angel investors guide too for the cheques that come even earlier.
Why state seed money matters
State funds back much of Hangzhou seed and deliberately feed the local deep-tech base that private money alone would not reach. ZJU spinouts draw early state money in particular, and the Dragons themselves grew out of exactly that base of patient public capital.
A state ticket can anchor your round and give later investors a reason to commit, since it also signals quality to the private VCs weighing the deal. These backers expect clean records, so keep your numbers in one virtual data room rather than scattered across email threads.
Ellty logs who opened each file and when, which matters when several funds are circling at once. Track every fund with document analytics so no warm lead goes cold while you wait.
From seed to a Series A
A seed round buys you the time to build, but a Series A wants real traction you can point to with numbers. Keep your backers close with steady updates between rounds, and use investor relations tools so those updates go out on a rhythm rather than in a panic.
A clean metrics file speeds the whole round, so have it ready before the term sheet lands rather than scrambling after. Read our due diligence timeline guide to know what each fund checks first and when they expect to see it.
Ellty stores every file in one room so diligence does not stall on a missing document. See the red flags funds watch for, and clear them before anyone has to ask.
How to pitch a seed investor
Lead with proof that already works.
- 1.Lead with proof that already works.Open with the early traction that shows your product already works for real users. A working signal beats any projection, so put it first before the story or the team slide.
- 2.Show the market is big enough.Seed funds need a prize large enough to justify a venture return, so size the market with numbers they can check. Make the path from your first customers to that market feel concrete, not aspirational.
- 3.Share one Ellty link to your data.Send a single Ellty link to your deck, metrics, and demo instead of loose attachments. You keep one source of truth and can track who opens each file and how long they stay.
- 4.Follow up the day a fund digs in.Ellty shows the exact moment a fund starts digging into your numbers, which is your cue to reach out. Follow up that same day while the interest is hot rather than days later when it has cooled.
How Ellty helps you land a seed investor in Hangzhou
You've shortlisted your Hangzhou seed funds already. Set up a data room before the first call.
- 1.Upload your deck, metrics, and demo.Set access per fund or partner.
- 2.Share one trackable link with each fund.Each fund gets its own link.
- 3.Watch opens and follow up on time.Use analytics to time each nudge.
Hangzhou seed investor questions
- National VCs and state seed funds. ZJU-linked funds back too.
- Variable Capital seeded Unitree. Hantan seeded BrainCo.
- Most run US$1M to US$5M. State tickets are in RMB.
- Yes, AI and robotics lead. The Dragons drew the money in.
- No, it funded itself early on. Its first raise came in 2026.
- Before your first seed call. Track who opens your deck.
