NCET2 and Haiyin Capital Partner to Create the “American-Chinese University Growth Fund”

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Haiyin Capital, a leading Chinese venture capital firm, and the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2), an association of entrepreneurial students and university startup officers, have agreed to form a joint venture called “The American-Chinese University Growth Fund” to provide Chinese venture funding to startups formed at American universities.  The expectation is that the Fund will provide at least $1 billion of funding from Chinese investors to American university startups over the next decade.

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NCET2 produces the “University Startups Demo Day” (TM) where American universities submit the very best startups they create based on the $37 billion of university research funded annually by the federal government. Every six months, 200 of those submitted companies are scored by a Corporate Selection Committee consisting of a rotating group of Fortune 500 member companies to select the 40 “Best University Startups” (TM) with industry alignment for presentation at the Demo Day. These companies are double curated by academia and industry and represent the very top startups coming out of American universities. The American-Chinese University Growth Fund will be the sole source syndicator of venture capital from China to invest in these startups alongside American venture capital firms.

“China has over three trillion dollars in foreign reserves resulting from decades-old trade imbalances and we would like to get some of that money back to fund the commercialization of federally-funded university research and to create jobs in the U.S.,” says Tony Stanco, NCET2 executive director, “and partnering with Haiyin Capital to systematically syndicate the venture capital deals in China allows us to do just that. With appropriate technology safeguards this joint venture is a tremendous win-win situation where Chinese investors can invest in America’s high-performing innovation economy for financial returns, and American university-based startups receive much needed gap funding to commercialize research and create American jobs.” 

To ensure that the deals are strictly for financial returns and to protect U.S. strategic technologies and assets, NCET2 will work closely with the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S.(CFIUS), Congress, the White House and the Department of Defense to clear each transaction. “These international technology deals are particularly hard for individual universities and startups to assess, so providing a review pathway through a vehicle like The American-Chinese University Growth Fund is very important to ensure that national strategic interests are protected, while at the same time giving the universities and startups the peace of mind that the transactions are safe,” said Tony Stanco. Historically, foreign investments in startups have not been the focus of CFIUS review leaving considerable risk for universities and startups in self-assessing, especially in the case of Chinese venture capital that has shown increasing interest in university startups in recent years, raising national security concerns in some quarters in Washington. Alleviating these concerns for all parties is a major objective of The American-Chinese University Growth Fund.

Haiyin has invested in more than a dozen hi-tech companies in the US, mostly university spin-offs, including medical devices companies such as Wicab, Cerevast and MC10, robotic companies such as Soft Robotics and Hanson Robotics, and energy companies such as WiTricity and 1366 Tech. Through The American-Chinese University Growth Fund, Haiyin will bring more Chinese investors to explore the investment opportunities in American university startups. “Obviously the hi-tech innovation of US companies, especially university spin-offs, is much higher than in China. As a private investment fund getting money from institutional investors and private business sectors in China, Haiyin Capital believes that our investments in US hi-tech startups by partnering with NCET2 will bring consistently high returns to our investors, and should at the same time help the U.S. startups become successful,” said Yuquan Wang, Founding Partner of Haiyin. 

The next University Startups Conference and Demo Day is in Washington, D.C. on April 18-19, 2017.

About Haiyin Capital: Headquartered in Beijing, China, Haiyin Capital actively invests worldwide in technology teams whose innovations are poised for global impact. Yuquan Wang, Founding Partner of Haiyin, is a respected mentor in the venture capital industry in China. He lectures frequently on tech market trends, and on Sina, Tencent and tech media within China. Prior to Haiyin, Wang founded Consultech in 1993, which was acquired by Omnicom Group. In 1998, he founded Frost & Sullivan China and served as President.

About NCET2: Headquartered in Washington, DC, the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer is the leading organization for creating and funding university startups. Tony Stanco, Esq. is founder and executive director of the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) and was a senior attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He works with universities and governments around the world on innovation policy, startup policy, software policy, open source, cyber security, and e-government issues. He has appeared before the US Congress, various US defense and civilian agencies, the World Bank, the European Commission, United Nations, Inter-American Development Bank, and Organization of American States. He has an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center and is licensed as a lawyer in New York state.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

FOR NCET2:

Ms. Ria Ancheta-AdriasMedia Director
Tel: +1 (202) 580 8382
Email: mediacontact@ncet2.org
http://ncet2.org/
 
FOR HAIYIN CAPITAL:
Mr. Yuquan WangFounding Partner
Tel: +1 (914) 316 4805
Email: yuquan.wang@haiyinfund.com
http://www.haiyincapital.com

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SOURCE National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer