China Launches $1 Trillion VC Fund
China launched a 1 trillion yuan national VC guidance fund with enhanced bank credit for tech innovation, marking a massive state-backed push into startup funding. Meanwhile, Toronto builders are invited to pitch obsessions for up to $250k checks from Entrepreneurs First, which has a $15B+ portfolio. The Indian startup ecosystem saw 43 startups raise $220M+ this week.
China's new national venture capital fund is structured with a 20-year duration, consisting of a 10-year investment period and a 10-year exit period, to provide long-term "patient capital." This approach is designed to support the lengthy research and development cycles common in "hard technology" sectors. The fund will operate through a three-tier structure that includes a main guidance fund, regional funds, and multiple sub-funds to leverage initial government capital and attract private investment. The fund will specifically target early-stage companies, with at least 70% of its capital directed towards seed and startup-stage enterprises. Investments will focus on strategic sectors such as integrated circuits, quantum technology, AI, biomedicine, and aerospace. To ensure capital is distributed to nascent companies, investee businesses must have a valuation under 500 million yuan, and any single investment is capped at 50 million yuan. Entrepreneurs First (EF) operates on a "talent investing" model, backing individuals before they have a team or even a fully formed idea. The program is divided into two main phases: "Form," a 12-week period where participants find a co-founder and develop an idea, and "Launch," where EF invests and provides support to grow the newly formed company. Since its Toronto launch in 2020, the program has produced over 25 venture-backed companies. The initial Toronto cohort at Entrepreneurs First saw four of its startups collectively raise $5.7 million CAD in seed funding. Success stories from the Canadian program include Vivid Machines, which is digitizing fruit production, and OutPoint, a marketing technology startup. Globally, companies emerging from EF's programs have a combined valuation of over $13 billion. The $220 million raised by Indian startups in the last week of February 2026 was part of a larger monthly total of approximately $1.2 billion. This represents a 2.2x increase compared to the $574.8 million raised in February 2025, indicating a significant rebound in investor confidence. The increase in funding comes despite a slight decrease in the number of deals, pointing to larger, more concentrated investment rounds. The recent funding surge in India follows a period of recalibration in the market. After peaking in 2021, venture capital funding in India saw a significant drop before beginning to recover. January 2026 recorded $927 million in VC funding, a 30% increase from January 2025, with early-stage deals showing the strongest activity. This suggests a renewed focus on backing new ventures.
