Shanghai-based Fresh Capital, which mainly invests in early- to mid-stage venture deals, has closed a new RMB-denominated fund at 1 billion yuan ($139.5 million) to specialise in dealmaking in the carbon-neutral field.
In a Monday statement, Fresh Capital said that limited partners (LPs) of the new fund include funds-of-funds (FOFs), government guidance funds in China, listed companies, and family offices, without specifying their identities.
Founded in 2017 by Steven Hu after his near-one-decade tenure at Cathay Capital Private Equity, where Hu led the firm’s growth-stage investments, Fresh Capital sources deals in areas like low-carbon energy technologies and applications, energy saving and carbon reduction solutions, and carbon finance, including carbon emission trading.
It invests in the circular economy, which covers businesses involving sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, and recycling existing materials and products to help tackle global climate change and other challenges like biodiversity loss and pollution.
The company has built a portfolio of startups, including Legend Energy, which offers software and hardware solutions for energy storage and management to new energy vehicles (NEVs) run by ride-hailing firm Didi Global and those manufactured by automaker BAIC Motor.
It is also a Series A investor in Cemt Hydrogen Energy, a hydrogen fuel cell system supplier that has raised a total financing of 800 million yuan ($111.6 million) so far.
Its portfolio also includes Huayi New Energy Technology, a provider of eco-friendly air conditioning equipment; and Ensonic, which develops acoustic AI technology for failure detection and maintenance of industrial machinery in the energy, electricity, and rail transportation sectors.
Fresh Capital-backed ATRenew, a trading platform for pre-owned consumer electronics, completed a $261-million initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in June 2021.
The fund update came after Fresh Capital announced the first close of its second RMB fund at over 600 million yuan ($83.7 million) in February 2021. The predecessor fund focuses on investments in the consumer tech and circular economy space.
In July 2019, the company closed its maiden RMB fund at 530 million yuan ($74 million).