DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng's hedge fund buys pre-IPO chip stakes

High-Flyer Quant, the hedge fund founded by DeepSeek's Liang Wenfeng, has secured pre-IPO stakes in some of China's most prominent technology listings this year, including memory chipmaker CXMT and humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics, according to CNBC .

CNBC's analysis of IPO data shows that two High-Flyer affiliates — Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management and Ningbo High-Flyer Quantitative Investment Management — built positions in pre-IPO rounds across a range of sectors, from chip packaging and electronic components to renewable energy and semiconductor supply-chain businesses. Nearly half of their allocations this year went to semiconductors and related supply-chain companies.

CXMT represented the largest single position. PaiPaiWang, a Shenzhen-based consultancy that monitors private funds in China, put the two funds' combined pre-IPO position in the memory chipmaker at $26 million. CXMT surged 466% on its Shanghai debut last month , briefly making it China's most valuable listed company, and has gained another 20% since then.

PaiPaiWang data puts the two funds' combined Unitree pre-IPO stake at $5.8 million. DeepSeek entered the deal on different terms entirely, taking a 2.31% strategic allocation and committing to a 36-month lock-up — triple the 12-month hold period that most other strategic investors accepted. Unitree closed 460% above its IPO price on its first trading day in Shanghai last week , but has retreated about 27% since then.

Analysts draw a line between the two types of investment. Hutong Research tech analyst Sigrid Wang drew a clear distinction, telling the outlet that High-Flyer approached Unitree as a return-seeking investment, whereas DeepSeek entered it with the intentions of a strategic partner. "There's a genuine distinction between the quant funds seeking returns and DeepSeek selectively using its corporate balance sheet to build strategic relationships around the future AI stack," Wang said.

Beijing's push to keep strategically important technology firms listed domestically has created what Rhodium Group research analyst Ciel Qi described as "lucrative pre-IPO investment opportunities" for funds. "Maximizing returns in China's market increasingly requires investing in line with Beijing's strategic agenda," Qi said.

High-Flyer's positioning has not been without risk. When a global AI-chip selloff rippled through quant strategies in July, state-backed media reported that only one of High-Flyer's nine products avoided losses. Chinese quant funds broadly clawed back those declines through August.