China reports venture funding rebound as capital shifts to AI and quantum
China's venture capital sector is recovering, with early-stage and hard-tech investment driving a 49% jump in first-half equity fundraising to over 1 trillion yuan.
China's venture capital market is showing signs of recovery, with a marked shift toward early-stage startups, smaller companies, long-horizon projects and hard-tech industries, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Qiu Yong said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Qiu said fundraising in the country's equity investment market surpassed 1 trillion yuan, or about $149.17 billion, in the first half of 2026 — a 49% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
He attributed the rebound to growing investor appetite for what he described as hard-tech and future industries, naming artificial intelligence and quantum technology among the priority fields.
Capital is increasingly being directed toward efforts to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies and to move research findings into commercial use, Qiu added.
The figures point to a venture funding landscape in which early-stage and smaller enterprises, along with projects requiring longer investment horizons, are becoming a defining market trend.