Panel Capital breaks cover with new fund, pushing assets past $140M
What's the deal? Hangzhou-based Panel CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has emerged publicly for the first time after eight years, revealing it has backed nearly 30 companies and expects a wave of IPOs from its portfolio. A newly closed fund will push its total assets under management above 1 billion yuan (about $140 million).
What's the endgame? Founded in 2018 by Lu Qingyuan and Zhi Jie, the firm focuses on hard-tech supply chains, starting with display panels before expanding into AR components and passive electronics. It styles itself as a boutique fund: small in size, but concentrated and willing to take large early positions.
Its portfolio includes Micro-LED leader JBDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, polariser-materials maker Hengmei OptoelectronicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ITO-target firm XianaoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and MLCC capacitor maker Weirong TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, valued at over 10 billion yuan in its last round. Two holdings — Sichuan New MaterialDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Luvi OptoelectronicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — have already listed.
Why now? Panel Capital's first fund cycle is closing, and exits are lining up. Weirong Technology is currently pursuing a ChiNext IPO, and the firm expects six to seven hard-tech IPOs in 2027.
The strategy: The founders prefer to build deals rather than join them. Panel Capital was the first outside shareholder in Xianao and one of only two early backers of Yingjie ChenhuiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. "We don't like joining other people's deals; we'd rather set up our own," the firm said.
It has also gone operational when needed. To localise upstream materials for Hengmei Optoelectronics in 2020, Panel Capital acquired a materials company and rebuilt it — an experience that shaped its "buy and build" approach.
What's next? Beyond hard tech, medical devices are forming as a separate business line, with the firm citing ageing demographics and overseas channels. Former portfolio founders from Luvi Optoelectronics and Sichuan New Material now sit behind the firm as limited partners.
The signal: Panel Capital's move toward institutionalisation reflects how AI-driven demand is reshaping China's electronics supply chain. A surge in computing needs has lifted MLCC components, and the founders argue the scale of opportunity — and the capital required — no longer suits a deliberately small fund.
Read more: jiemian.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
