Legend Capital
About Legend Capital
Legend Capital 君联资本 is a venture capital and private equity investment firm focused on early-stage and growth-stage companies in China. The firm operates in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Seoul, and has a broad regional reach. Legend Capital invests across various sectors, including technology, healthcare, consumer services, enterprise services, and advanced manufacturing.
In addition to providing capital, Legend Capital offers structured value-added services to support its portfolio companies. These services include executive coaching, strategic planning,
Legend Capital was formed in April 2001 as the venture investment arm of Legend Holdings, the parent of Lenovo. Its first fund had a US$35M commitment from Legend Holdings. It took the Chinese name Junlian (君联) in February 2012. Zhu Linan, Wang Nengguang and Chen Hao are named as co-founders in public profiles. Dealroom lists Zhu Linan as Chairman and Chen Hao as Vice Chairman. The firm signed the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment in 2019. The firm does not publicly name a partner who leads its AI investing, so none is listed here.
Public records show Legend Capital backing Chinese AI companies at several layers of the stack: foundation models, diffusion language models and robotics world models. It appears in the Zhipu AI cap table from a Series B+ entry, and Zhipu listed in 2026. In 2026 it also invested in Manifold AI and DiffuSpace. Legend Holdings invested alongside it in Manifold's March 2026 seed. Press reports also list Legend Capital among new investors in DeepSeek's second funding round, among industrial investors that include Geely and SMIC Capital. Rounds are often syndicated: it has co-led with Cowin Capital at Manifold and with Matrix Partners China and Shunwei Capital at DiffuSpace. Founders working on models, robotics or AI infrastructure with operations in China are the clearest fit.
Public descriptions say the firm's core business is early-stage venture capital and expansion-stage growth capital. Its AI deals show both: seed rounds at Manifold AI and DiffuSpace, and a Series B+ entry at Zhipu AI. Legend Capital does not publish a standard check size or ownership target. Data aggregators report round sizes but not the firm's own cheque, so none is stated here. On fund size, Private Equity International has headlined a US$270M secondaries fund close and a sixth yuan-denominated fund targeting US$1.55bn. Neither headline carries a date we could confirm, and the firm does not publish a full fund list.
- Zhipu AI (Z.ai): Chinese foundation model company. Legend Capital entered at Series B+. Dealroom lists a US$6.6B IPO in 2026.
- Manifold AI: world models for robotics and physical hardware. Legend Capital co-led a round of over RMB 100M with Cowin Capital in January 2026. A seed of about US$28M followed in March 2026.
- DiffuSpace: diffusion language model startup founded in May 2026. It raised nearly RMB 500M (US$74.7M) across two rounds co-led by Matrix Partners China, Shunwei Capital and Legend Capital.
- DeepSeek: reported by BigGo Finance as one of the new industrial investors in its second funding round. The round's date was not confirmed.
- devex.com/organizations/legend-capital-157934
- crunchbase.com/organization/legend-capital
- dealroom.co/investors/legend-capital
- dealroom.co/companies/manifold-ai
- thecranechina.substack.com/p/manus-is-back-with-a-500m-series
- kucoin.com/news/flash/diffuspace-secures-near-500m-rmb-in-funding-for-
- vcsheet.com/who/chen-hao
- parsers.vc/fund/legendcapital.com.cn
Investing activity
Legend Capital appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $99M, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Growth and Seed, with a median round size of $70M. The most recent are DiffuSpace (Two venture rounds, $70M, Oct 2026) and Manifold AI (Seed, $28.9M (CNY 200.0M), Mar 2026).
Legend Capital most often invests alongside Matrix Partners China, Shunwei Capital, CAS Star and Huawei Hubble, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in Foundation models (diffusion LLMs) and AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Legend Capital
Does Legend Capital invest in AI startups?
Yes. Public records show it in Zhipu AI, Manifold AI and DiffuSpace, which cover foundation models, robotics world models and diffusion language models. Most of these are Chinese companies.
What stage does Legend Capital invest at?
It describes its core business as early-stage venture capital and expansion-stage growth capital. Its recent AI deals include seed rounds at Manifold AI and DiffuSpace and a Series B+ entry at Zhipu AI.
How big are Legend Capital's AI checks?
The firm does not publish a check size. Reported round sizes are those of the whole round, such as Manifold's roughly US$28M seed and DiffuSpace's roughly US$74.7M across two rounds, not Legend's own share.
Who founded Legend Capital?
It was set up in April 2001 inside Legend Holdings, Lenovo's parent. Zhu Linan, Wang Nengguang and Chen Hao are named as co-founders in public profiles.
Does Legend Capital co-invest with other funds in AI rounds?
Yes. It co-led Manifold AI with Cowin Capital and DiffuSpace with Matrix Partners China and Shunwei Capital. Manifold's investors also include Huawei's Hubble Investment.
What AI companies has Legend Capital invested in?
Legend Capital's AI investments include DiffuSpace and Manifold AI. The 2 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Legend Capital based?
Legend Capital is based in Bei Jing Shi, China.
Who does Legend Capital co-invest with?
Legend Capital's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Matrix Partners China (1 deal), Shunwei Capital (1 deal), CAS Star (1 deal), Huawei Hubble (1 deal) and Horizon Robotics (1 deal).
How can founders reach Legend Capital?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Legend Capital's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Legend Capital to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.