AI startups hire young VCs as CFOs: DeepSeek's first CFO is a 1991-born Hillhouse partner
创业邦 · wechat · 2026-10-21
A deep-dive into the migration of young VCs into CFO roles at AI startups: DeepSeek hired its first CFO, Yan Wentao, a 1991-born Hillhouse Venture Partners partner dubbed the "Zhou Shouzi of AI". Hillhouse alumni Xue Zizhao and Luo Tianqi took capital roles at MiniMax and Galaxea, while former GSR partner Zhang Yutong became co-founder/president of Moonshot AI handling fundraising and commercialization.
The piece argues CFOs now matter more for raising capital than bookkeeping: DeepSeek reportedly raised 150B RMB across two rounds at a 500B RMB valuation; Moonshot raised over 37.6B RMB and grew from $10B to $50B valuation in under a year, with Kimi K3 adopting a Meta-style license model; Galaxea raised 3B RMB at 2B valuation. Moonshot and Galaxea have filed confidential HKEX IPO applications, and AI absorbed 61% of global VC dollars in 2025.
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