Source Code Capital is a Beijing-based venture capital firm founded in the spring of 2014 by Yi Cao, a Tsinghua University computer science graduate and former vice president at Sequoia Capital China. Since inception, the firm says it has invested in more than 300 startups, and its hall-of-fame portfolio reads like a roll call of China's technology giants — an unusually concentrated track record for a fund that is barely a decade old.

The firm's thesis is built on the conviction that the information revolution is a new "market economy 2.0" still in its early stages. It invests across seed, early and growth stages in four core sectors: AI & Robotics, intelligent manufacturing, internet & consumer, and life sciences. Notable portfolio companies listed on the firm's own website include ByteDance, Meituan (3690.HK), KE Holdings (NYSE: BEKE), Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), Unitree Robotics, Moonshot AI (月之暗面), and OPay — spanning social platforms, EVs, humanoid robotics and frontier AI models. A reported assets-under-management figure of US$5.2 billion (2022, per Wikipedia) exists in public records, but the firm does not publish its current fund size; treat it as not publicly disclosed by the firm itself.

Source Code's real differentiator is community infrastructure. It runs 码荟 (Code Class / Code Community), a self-described "industry super-connector" comprising the firm's LPs and over 300 member companies, giving portfolio founders direct access to capital connections, deep resource cooperation and multi-dimensional experience sharing. The annual peer-and-mentor alliance reportedly counts members such as Zhang Yiming of ByteDance and Wang Xing of Meituan — meaning a founder who takes Source Code's money effectively buys into the founder network of China's largest consumer tech companies.

  • ByteDance — the TikTok parent, the firm's most famous early call
  • Meituan — China's super-app giant, listed in Hong Kong
  • Li Auto — EV maker, NASDAQ-listed
  • Unitree Robotics — humanoid robotics leader
  • Moonshot AI — frontier model lab behind Kimi
  • OPay — African fintech breakout, a cross-border thesis win

Why it matters for founders

For founders in AI, robotics and smart manufacturing, Source Code offers something scarce: a check plus a seat at the table with ByteDance and Meituan's founders through the Code Class network. Its stage-spanning strategy means one relationship can carry a startup from seed to pre-IPO — though India-based founders should note the firm's home turf is firmly China.