16 investors back Shenzhen AI in 2026. The city leads in robots and applied AI. Tencent and state funds dominate, with the humanoid boom in full swing.
Shenzhen does AI differently from Beijing, leading in robots and applied AI rather than chasing the biggest foundation models. Its deep hardware base shapes the bets here, so founders tend to build physical AI that ships rather than software that only demos.
Tencent anchors the strategic side of the market while state funds write most of the rest, and that mix sets the tone for how rounds get done. Cheques run from US$2M to US$200M, with big tech and corporate investors leading the largest deals and state vehicles filling in the early stages.
AI rounds move fast and run on data, so the team that keeps its files organised tends to keep its momentum. Ellty keeps your model results, data, and deck in one tracked room, so you always know which fund is actually reading before the call.
| Type | Check size | Sector focus | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen Capital Group | State VC | US$5M-$50M+ | Embodied AI, AI chips, applied AI | szvc.com.cn |
| Shenzhen AI & Robotics Fund | State RMB fund | RMB fund | Embodied AI, robotics | Shenzhen state fund |
| Huawei Hubble | Corporate VC (chips) | US$5M-$30M | AI chips, semis, robotics | huawei.com |
| Oriental Fortune Capital | VC | US$3M-$30M | AI, autonomy chips, digital | ofcapital.com |
| Green Pine Capital | VC | US$2M-$20M | AI, robotics, IoT | greenpinecapital.com |
| Cowin Capital | VC / PE | US$2M-$20M | Humanoid robotics, embodied AI | cowincapital.com |
| Shenzhen Hi-Tech Investment | State fund | State financing | AI, robotics, hardware | szhti.com.cn |
| HongShan | VC (USD + RMB) | US$10M-$100M+ | Embodied AI, robotics, AI | hsgcap.com |
| Qiming Venture Partners | VC (USD + RMB) | US$5M-$50M | Embodied AI, robotics, AI infra | qimingvc.com |
| Shunwei Capital | VC (Xiaomi-linked) | US$2M-$50M | Robotics, embodied AI | shunwei.com |
| Lenovo Capital | Corporate VC | US$3M-$30M | Embodied AI, AI agents, chips | lcig.io |
| IDG Capital | VC (USD + RMB) | US$5M-$100M | Robotics, embodied AI, tech | idgcapital.com |
| Matrix Partners China | VC (USD + RMB) | US$2M-$30M | AI, deep tech, robotics | matrixpartners.com.cn |
| Tencent | Corporate / strategic | US$10M-$200M+ | LLMs, embodied AI, robotics | tencent.com |
| BYD | Corporate strategic | Strategic | Autonomous driving, applied AI | byd.com |
| Foxconn / Hon Hai | Corporate strategic | Strategic / large | AI infra, industrial AI, robotics | foxconn.com |
Keep your AI data room ready for every fund
AI funds run hard diligence on your model, data, and compute. Ellty logs every view so you know who is serious before the call.
Start free 14-day trialWhat an AI investor backs
An AI investor backs a real model and a genuine data edge, and they want proof that it holds up at scale rather than in a single benchmark. They look for a clear lead over rivals, and most will run a proper venture capital check before they commit a cheque.
They study your compute roadmap, your data sources, and the team that has to execute, so a clean due diligence file does a lot of the selling for you. Ellty gives each fund one tracked link to that data, so you can see exactly who studied your model first and who is only skimming.
The embodied intelligence field is not just pre-iPhone, it has not even reached the stage of the earliest brick mobile phone.
16 Shenzhen AI investors
1. Shenzhen Capital Group
SCGC is Shenzhen's flagship state venture firm.
Recent Activity: Led embodied-AI firm AI2 Robotics' Series A
LinkedIn: Shenzhen Capital Group LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Embodied AI, AI chips, applied AI
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$5M-$50M+
Location: Shenzhen
Website: szvc.com.cn
2. Shenzhen AI & Robotics Fund
This is Shenzhen's state embodied-AI fund.
Recent Activity: A RMB 1.55B state fund from 2025
Sector Focus: Embodied AI, robotics
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: RMB fund
Location: Shenzhen
Website: Shenzhen state fund
3. Huawei Hubble
Hubble is Huawei's chip and AI venture arm.
Recent Activity: Shifting from chips toward AI and robotics
Sector Focus: AI chips, semis, robotics
Stage Focus: Strategic
Check Size: US$5M-$30M
Location: Shenzhen
Website: huawei.com
4. Oriental Fortune Capital
Oriental Fortune backs AI and autonomy chips.
Recent Activity: Backed self-driving chip firm EVAS
Sector Focus: AI, autonomy chips, digital
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$3M-$30M
Location: Shenzhen
Website: ofcapital.com
5. Green Pine Capital
Green Pine raised a fund for AI and robotics.
Recent Activity: Raised a RMB 1B AI and robotics fund
Sector Focus: AI, robotics, IoT
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$2M-$20M
Location: Shenzhen
Website: greenpinecapital.com
6. Cowin Capital
Cowin backs Shenzhen humanoid-robot startups.
Recent Activity: Backed humanoid firms ExponTech and Partner
Sector Focus: Humanoid robotics, embodied AI
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$2M-$20M
Location: Shenzhen
Website: cowincapital.com
Share one link with every Shenzhen AI fund
Ellty shows when SCGC or Tencent opens your deck. Follow up with each fund at the right time.
Start free 14-day trial7. Shenzhen Hi-Tech Investment
HTI channels city money into AI startups.
Recent Activity: Channels city money into AI startups
Sector Focus: AI, robotics, hardware
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: State financing
Location: Shenzhen
Website: szhti.com.cn
8. HongShan
HongShan backs Shenzhen embodied-AI startups.
Recent Activity: Co-led Shenzhen's X Square Robot round
LinkedIn: HongShan LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Embodied AI, robotics, AI
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$10M-$100M+
Location: Beijing / Hong Kong
Website: hsgcap.com
9. Qiming Venture Partners
Qiming was an early backer of robot maker UBTech.
Recent Activity: An early backer of robot maker UBTech
LinkedIn: Qiming Venture Partners LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Embodied AI, robotics, AI infra
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$5M-$50M
Location: Shanghai
Website: qimingvc.com
10. Shunwei Capital
Shunwei backs embodied-robot startups.
Recent Activity: Backed embodied-robot firm DeepMind Intelligent
LinkedIn: Shunwei Capital LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Robotics, embodied AI
Stage Focus: Seed to growth
Check Size: US$2M-$50M
Location: Beijing
Website: shunwei.com
11. Lenovo Capital
Lenovo Capital backs embodied AI and chips.
Recent Activity: Backs embodied AI and inference chips
Sector Focus: Embodied AI, AI agents, chips
Stage Focus: Seed, early
Check Size: US$3M-$30M
Location: Beijing
Website: lcig.io
12. IDG Capital
IDG Capital backs Chinese humanoid-robot makers.
Recent Activity: Backed humanoid robot maker Robotera
LinkedIn: IDG Capital LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Robotics, embodied AI, tech
Stage Focus: Early to growth
Check Size: US$5M-$100M
Location: Beijing
Website: idgcapital.com
13. Matrix Partners China
Matrix is an early-stage AI and robotics backer.
Recent Activity: An early-stage AI and robotics backer
Sector Focus: AI, deep tech, robotics
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Check Size: US$2M-$30M
Location: Beijing / Shanghai
Website: matrixpartners.com.cn
14. Tencent
Tencent anchors Shenzhen AI with models and robots.
Recent Activity: Backed Leju Robotics; runs the Tairos AI platform
LinkedIn: Tencent LinkedIn
Sector Focus: LLMs, embodied AI, robotics
Stage Focus: Strategic, growth
Check Size: US$10M-$200M+
Location: Shenzhen
Website: tencent.com
15. BYD
BYD puts applied AI into its vehicles.
Recent Activity: Put DeepSeek AI into its driver-assist system
Sector Focus: Autonomous driving, applied AI
Stage Focus: Strategic
Check Size: Strategic
Location: Shenzhen
Website: byd.com
16. Foxconn / Hon Hai
Foxconn spends big on AI and factory robotics.
Recent Activity: Plans US$2-3B a year on AI
Sector Focus: AI infra, industrial AI, robotics
Stage Focus: Strategic
Check Size: Strategic / large
Location: Taiwan / Shenzhen base
Website: foxconn.com
Shenzhen's embodied AI edge
Shenzhen leads in embodied AI because its robots learn from real-world data rather than benchmarks alone, and its dense hardware base lets founders build physical AI faster than almost anywhere else. That speed means you can test in the real world early, and funds here back the teams who actually ship hardware rather than slideware.
Robots tie directly into the surrounding factory base, so new startups spin out quickly and find suppliers within a single city. Ellty keeps your model data ready for those investors, and you can read our Shenzhen manufacturing tech investors guide for the hardware side of the same ecosystem.
Tencent and state money
Tencent anchors Shenzhen AI money by backing both models and robots, and a deal with it can bring real distribution that is very hard to win on your own. State funds write much of the rest, and Shenzhen runs some of the largest dedicated AI and robotics vehicles in the country.
AI models are sensitive assets, so you should be careful about who can see what and use granular permissions on each file. Ellty controls who opens each document and logs every view, so you see exactly who studied your model and how deeply they went.
From seed to a funded scale-up
A seed round buys you the time to build a working model, but the next round will want to see real users and real traction behind it. Shenzhen AI rounds can grow fast once state money and big tech join in, so the gap between stages is often shorter here than founders expect.
A clean data room is what keeps that pace up, and you want it ready well before the term sheet lands rather than scrambling afterwards. Read our due diligence for investors guide so you know what each backer will ask, learn how to prepare for due diligence early, and let Ellty log who opened each file and when.
How to pitch a Shenzhen AI investor
Lead with a model that works at scale.
- 1.Lead with a model that works at scale.AI funds want hard proof that your model performs outside the demo, so open with results that hold up on real data. Show the metric that matters for your problem and the evidence behind it.
- 2.Show your data edge and compute plan.A clear lead over rivals matters more than a long feature list, so explain where your data comes from and why it is hard to copy. Pair that with a credible compute plan that shows you can keep scaling.
- 3.Share one Ellty link to your data room.Send each fund a single tracked Ellty link instead of loose email attachments. You stay in control of access and can see which file each partner actually opens.
- 4.Follow up the day a fund digs in.Ellty shows you the moment a fund starts reading in earnest, not just when it first clicks. Use that signal to follow up while your deck is still fresh in their minds.
How Ellty helps you land an AI investor in Shenzhen
You've shortlisted your Shenzhen AI investors already. Set up a data room before the first call.
- 1.Upload your model results, data, and deck.Set access per fund or per partner.
- 2.Share one trackable link with each fund.Each fund gets its own tracked link.
- 3.Watch opens and follow up at the right time.Use Ellty analytics to time each nudge.
Shenzhen AI investor questions
- SCGC, Huawei Hubble, and Tencent invest. State robot funds back too.
- It leads in robots and applied AI. Beijing leads in big models.
- Cheques run US$2M to US$200M in 2026. Big tech leads the largest.
- Much of it is in Shenzhen. State funds back embodied AI.
- A working model and a data edge. A clear path to real users.
- Before your very first investor call. Track who opens your model files.
