TechFlow News, June 25: According to Caixin, amid the A-share “tech bull” market, capital is rapidly concentrating in the AI industrial chain, leading to marked divergence within the private equity (PE) fund industry. PE firms heavily invested in AI and computing power are delivering superior returns, while discretionary PE managers failing to keep pace with this trend are experiencing net asset value (NAV) drawdowns and shrinking assets under management (AUM).
Data shows that Yunzhou Capital—a formerly “billion-dollar” discretionary PE manager—has seen its AUM fall below RMB 5 billion. Established “billion-dollar” discretionary PE firms such as Banxia Investment and Tongben Investment have also experienced AUM declines. Li Bei, founder of Banxia Investment, commented on her fund’s drawdown, stating she is unwilling to jump on the AI bandwagon and believes the conditions triggering an AI bubble burst have already emerged. Industry insiders view timing alignment with the AI industrial chain as the key performance differentiator for discretionary PE managers.
