Hong Kong family office backs $100M AI fund focused on chips and infrastructure
What’s the deal? 3C AGI Partners, an artificial intelligence venture firm founded by former SenseTime managing director Esther WongDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, is launching a new fund targeting up to $100M. The vehicle has raised $50M in a first close and is backed by VMS GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Hong Kong family office that manages more than $4B.
The fund will focus on AI infrastructure such as chips, hardware, and data centres, rather than applications. It follows an earlier 2023 AI fund that has already been deployed, including investments in AI chipmakers Cerebras and Groq, and space-based data centre company StarcloudDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? Interest in generative AI and supporting infrastructure is driving a rebound in Asia’s private markets. VMS says confidence is returning as investors look for exposure to long-term AI demand rather than short-term application plays.
The new fund also reflects a shift in geography. While the first fund focused on US companies, the new vehicle adopts a broader “US Plus” strategy to balance exposure to North America with selective global and China-linked deals.
What could go wrong? Raising the full $100M could prove challenging as family offices navigate geopolitical tensions between the US and China. Cross-border tech investing has become more complex, particularly in semiconductors and data infrastructure.
There is also concentration risk. By avoiding applications, the fund is betting heavily on infrastructure winners, where capital intensity is high and timelines can be long.
The signal: The launch highlights growing appetite among Asian private capital for the building blocks of AI rather than consumer-facing products. Hardware and compute are increasingly seen as the safest way to gain AI exposure.
It also shows Hong Kong family offices edging away from China-centric strategies toward more global mandates. In a fragmented tech landscape, flexibility and selectivity are becoming key to staying investable.
Sources:
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Tech in Asia
China Daily
J.V.
