As an asset management institution rooted in Hong Kong with a global footprint, C Capital was invited to attend J.P. Morgan’s “Innovation House” event held in Hong Kong on March 23. During the forum session, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben Cheng, engaged in an in-depth dialogue with Chibo Tang, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners. The two shared professional views and forward-looking insights on the evolution of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem, deep-tech investment trends, and how founders should respond.

Figure 1: Ben Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of C Capital, and Chibo Tang, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners, engaged in an in-depth dialogue at J.P. Morgan’s forum

This forum brought together more than 40 global entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors, aiming to help the next generation of founders achieve global-scale expansion and sustained growth, while creating an efficient platform for all parties to quickly build connections and gain industry insights. C Capital currently manages approximately US$1.5 billion in assets and has five offices in Zurich, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Sydney. It primarily invests in growth-stage companies in deep tech and consumer sectors. The company’s participation in this forum highlighted its presence and influence in global technology investing.

At the beginning of the discussion, Ben Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of C Capital, first focused on the transformation of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem. He noted that in recent years, the Hong Kong SAR government has been especially proactive in promoting the innovation and technology ecosystem, and that the establishment of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) has brought more mature and professional capital into the region, providing fertile ground for the growth of deep-tech enterprises. “We at C Capital are honored to cultivate this fertile ground and accompany companies as they steadily move from the growth stage onto the global stage.”

Investment Philosophy: ‘Follow the Money’

When discussing C Capital’s core investment logic, Ben Cheng shared a principle the firm has consistently upheld, summarizing it precisely with an industry saying: “In our industry, people often say, ‘follow the money.’ You have to ask yourself—who will ultimately pay for the technology?” This pragmatic investment philosophy runs through all of C Capital’s portfolio decisions.

Figure 2: Ben Cheng shares C Capital’s portfolio decision-making logic at the forum

He further explained: “China is the world’s manufacturing center, and the real application scenarios for artificial intelligence will inevitably be found in factory production processes. Based on this judgment, we decisively positioned ourselves in the robotics sector three years ago.” Ben Cheng then cited C Capital’s high-quality portfolio companies as evidence that this logic has proven correct: “Biren, which we invested in, has been making steady progress in the GPU semiconductor field. We also invested in Agile Robots and AGIBOT, both of which have now grown into leading companies in China’s robotics sector. These cases all validate the investment value of ‘following the fundamental nature of the industry.’”

Industry Outlook: After Robotics, the Next Stop Is the ‘AI Brain’

At the forum, Ben Cheng used the development path of the electric vehicle industry as an analogy for the future of the robotics industry, and his vivid explanation became one of the highlights of the event. “When we invested in XPeng in 2017, the electric vehicle space was still a blue ocean. Soon afterward, more than 20 companies flooded into the market, and the sector quickly turned into a red ocean. The next-stage opportunity in the EV industry lies in its ‘brain’—autonomous driving technology. Today, the robotics industry is going through the same development trajectory.”

Figure 3: Ben Cheng shares his investment philosophy on the robotics sector

Ben Cheng further analyzed that there are currently twenty to thirty startups pouring into the humanoid robotics space, and competition in the market is becoming increasingly intense, making it difficult to predict the eventual winner. As a result, C Capital’s investment focus has shifted from the robot body itself to the more fundamentally valuable robotic “AI brain”: “We need a unified intelligent hub that can empower different robot manufacturers and solve the current pain point that robots still struggle to truly meet user needs. That is the core of the next stage of growth in the robotics industry.”

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Be Willing to Give Up Equity to Raise Capital—Survival Matters Most

As an investor focused on growth-stage companies, Ben Cheng drew on his years of experience to offer three pragmatic and profound pieces of advice to the entrepreneurs in attendance, sparking broad resonance.

First, if you have the opportunity to raise money, take it. “I once saw a company grow from a US$100 million valuation to a US$1 billion valuation, but because the founder refused dilution and missed the financing window, it eventually burned through its cash and went to zero. If they had been more flexible and raised one more round to survive another six months, the ending might have been completely different.”

Second, keep an open mind about dilution. “Many first-time founders care too much about the percentage of the company they personally own. But if you look at successful billionaires, they often hold only a single-digit stake in their own companies. A company’s growth depends on partners. Dilution is the inevitable price of bringing in resources and achieving scalable growth.”

Third, stay open to M&A. Although mergers and acquisitions are difficult to control proactively, they are a preferred exit route for many investors. He advised founders: “When you receive the right acquisition offer, seize the opportunity first and deal with the details afterward. Don’t miss a good opportunity because of hesitation.”

Connection and Exchange: The Value of Innovation House

The original purpose of J.P. Morgan’s “Innovation House” is precisely to create a space where entrepreneurs and investors can connect efficiently and engage in meaningful exchange. Here, conversations between investors and founders are no longer limited to surface-level project pitches, but instead dig deeper into industry judgments, technology trends, and long-term strategic thinking.

Figure 4: Forum guests Ben Cheng, Chibo Tang, and moderator Amy Tan pose for a group photo at the forum

C Capital’s participation in this event is itself a reflection of this philosophy. From Biren to AGIBOT, and further to its forward-looking positioning around the robotic “AI brain,” the investment path behind C Capital is grounded in a systematic methodology based on deep industry research. Through the dialogue at “Innovation House,” this methodology was able to interact and spark with the many entrepreneurs and investment peers present. As global innovation forces converge in Hong Kong, such connections are in themselves an important step in helping the next generation of founders go global.

Figure 5: Forum guests Ben Cheng and Chibo Tang pose at the venue with Kam Shing Kwang, Chief Executive Officer of J.P. Morgan Hong Kong

Article images source: JPM

About C Capital

Founded in 2017, C Capital is a private investment platform focused on the Asia-Pacific region and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: YTME). To date, it manages assets of more than US$1.2 billion. C Capital’s private equity business focuses on companies ranging from early-stage to growth-stage, with investments spanning consumer, consumer technology, hard technology, and emerging technology sectors. In addition to private equity investing, C Capital also actively deploys capital into private credit and controlling investments in real assets, leveraging its deep market network and local insight to uncover attractive investment opportunities.