Sequoia added ten trillion new blue oceans, and venture capital went deep into the industry | Nails are found

Focus on the three major areas of digital economy, new energy and life sciences.

Author | Fang Xiaonan

Edit | Liu Jingfeng

Even VCs are starting to pay attention to new infrastructure.

Today (January 20), Sequoia China announced the completion of the fundraising of sequoia China New Infrastructure Equity Investment Fund (SEQUO China New Infrastructure Fund, SCIF).

According to Sequoia China, the new infrastructure fund established this time will focus on the infrastructure construction of the three major areas of digital economy, new energy and life sciences, promote the deep integration of new technologies and the real economy, and the investment direction will mainly cover new energy infrastructure, high-standard logistics, cold storage, data centers, new economy industrial parks, high-end manufacturing plants, biomedical industrial parks, etc.

As we all know, in the 17 years since its establishment in 2005, Sequoia China's refueling direction has mainly focused on technology, consumption, medical health, and the new infrastructure fund established this time will be a milestone new product for Sequoia China from seed to growth.

1. New infrastructure, a blue ocean of ten trillion yuan

Why New Infrastructure?

In April 2020, the state clarified for the first time three aspects of new infrastructure, including information infrastructure, integration infrastructure, and innovation infrastructure; and 7 major areas, 5G, big data, artificial intelligence, industrial Internet, UHV, new energy vehicle charging piles, high-speed rail transit, etc. Since then, new infrastructure has ushered in a development boom, landing and blossoming in various places.

Subsequently, the 14th Five-Year Plan outlined the construction of new infrastructure as the focus of expanding investment space, and localities also regarded new infrastructure as an accelerator of high-quality development. Starting from 2020, provinces and cities will begin to deploy new infrastructure intensively and release a roadmap for new infrastructure construction. According to incomplete statistics, nearly 20 provinces such as Beijing, Tianjin, Hubei, Zhejiang, and Anhui have issued local "14th Five-Year Plan" outlines, clarifying 5G construction goals in the next five years and accelerating the construction of a number of major projects such as big data centers and industrial Internet.

Behind this, new infrastructure investment is also rapidly heating up. According to the statistics of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in 2020, under the catalysis of multiple policy dividends, the investment related to new infrastructure during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period is expected to exceed 10 trillion yuan.

New infrastructure investment is providing a solid backing for China's rapidly growing new economy and high-end manufacturing industry.

Traditional infrastructure investment is mostly dominated by government industrial investment funds, and social capital participates less, while under the wave of new infrastructure, this pattern will be broken, and more and more venture capital institutions will begin to target this blue ocean.

For Sequoia China, which is known as the "wind vane of the venture capital circle", the establishment of the new infrastructure fund has also "made a sample" for those investment institutions that want to enter the market.

2. Internationally renowned investors are optimistic about China's new infrastructure

According to Sequoia China, the new infrastructure fund attracted many well-known institutional investors, including international sovereign funds, pension funds, asset management companies and so on. This also proves that international investors are optimistic about the long-term development of China's economy, long-term investment opportunities in China's new economy and new infrastructure, and Sequoia China's leading investment capabilities and ecosystem synergies in the new economy and new infrastructure.

Among them, Brookfield Asset Management has become the largest LP investor and strategic investment partner of Sequoia China New Infrastructure Fund.

According to the data, Bofeng is one of the world's largest alternative asset management companies, with global assets of $650 billion, focusing on investment in real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy, of which $12 billion is under management in China.

Its star assets are located all over the world, such as Brookfield Place in New York (the former world financial center), Canary Wharf in London, and Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.

While Bowen is on par with the world-renowned top investment firm Blackstone Group in terms of asset management, it is much more understated, and its CEO Bruce Flatt has been called "Canada's Buffett" for its unique value investment philosophy.

Shen Nanpeng, Global Managing Partner of Sequoia, Founder and Managing Partner of Sequoia China, said: "In the context of the sustained and steady growth of China's new economy, Sequoia China New Infrastructure Fund will become another powerful choice to help Chinese entrepreneurs realize their corporate vision. Bofeng is a professional investment institution in the field of global infrastructure, and we are pleased to cooperate with it to jointly support Chinese enterprises in all aspects of development." ”

This seems to be a new sign – venture capital, which used to specialize in emerging technologies, is also going deep into the industry.