Peter Smith
⬤ Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management, the hedge fund founded by DeepSeek creator Liang Wenfeng, crushed it in 2025 with average returns of 56.6% across its funds. That performance landed High-Flyer in second place among Chinese quant managers overseeing more than $1.4 billion in assets. The massive gains give Liang serious financial firepower to fund DeepSeek's AI research, talent, and computing infrastructure.
⬤ High-Flyer manages over $10 billion in assets and hasn't taken outside money for years, so most of those gains go straight to Liang. Using standard hedge fund fees—roughly 1% management and 20% performance—the annual revenue likely tops $700 million. Compare that to DeepSeek's reported sub-$6 million budget for its flagship model development, and you can see the huge internal resources now potentially on tap.
⬤ The strategy shift paid off big time. High-Flyer ditched market-neutral approaches in 2024 and went heavy on long-only stock positions, catching a solid equity rally in China during 2025. Only Ningbo Lingjun beat them among large Chinese quant funds, posting returns above 70%. Overall, Chinese quant funds averaged 30.5% returns—more than double their global counterparts—while long-only quant strategies hit around 35%.
⬤ Unusually favorable market conditions in China supercharged systematic stock strategies in 2025, and that hedge fund success directly feeds AI development capacity. Strong returns mean more capital for computing power, talent acquisition, and long-term research, showing how quant finance performance and AI advancement are increasingly intertwined in China's tech ecosystem.
Peter Smith
