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Step Holdings
Step Holdings runs fund-of-funds, direct investments, and innovation credit from Shanghai, operating an integrated early-stage relay model since 2010.
Step Holdings
Established in 2010 as 上海创业接力科技金融集团, Step Holdings operates out of Shanghai with a singular focus: keeping early-stage Chinese technology ventures capitalized through successive growth rounds. The firm describes its mission as 'relay investing' — a deliberately sequential, multi-instrument approach rarely seen outside government-guided funds. Three parallel divisions define the deployment: a fund-of-funds commitment platform (ventures, growth, seed, and start-up stages), a direct-investment vertical (直投案例), and a financial-services unit (金融服务) offering innovation-linked credit. By layering these channels, Step Holdings funds managers, writes direct checks, and provides structured loans — all targeting China's domestic technology pipeline. The firm's website references fund cases and direct portfolio companies without naming them publicly, consistent with a manager that sources through Shanghai's institutional network rather than marketing deal flow to foreign LPs. The group characterizes its ecosystem as three linked businesses — fund investment management, financial innovation services, and a sci-tech innovation service platform — but publishes no team headcount, AUM figure, or total deployment. Confirmed operational activity remains anchored to its 2010 launch; the absence of a LinkedIn presence or recent operational disclosures limits visibility into current organizational scale. Step Holdings folds fund-of-funds LP commitments, direct company stakes, and specialty lending into one legal stack — an integrated model that grants earlier and more persistent access to Shanghai's early-stage pipeline than a pure LP could command.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2010
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Asia
Country
China
City
Shanghai
Corporate office
Shanghai, China
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is Step Holdings' relay-investing model?
The firm describes its approach as 'relay investing' — combining fund-of-funds commitments, direct equity stakes, and innovation-linked credit from a single Shanghai-based platform. This allows Step Holdings to support portfolio companies through successive growth stages without relying on a single instrument. The model integrates fund commitments, direct checks, and structured lending under one legal entity.
Does Step Holdings invest directly in companies, or only through funds?
Both. Step Holdings maintains a dedicated direct-investment track (直投案例) alongside its fund-of-funds platform. Its website references direct case studies, indicating it writes direct equity checks in addition to committing capital to external venture and growth managers. A financial-services unit further extends credit to early-stage technology companies.
What do we know about Step Holdings' current AUM?
Step Holdings has not publicly disclosed an AUM figure, nor has a recent credible secondary source published one. No total deployment or team headcount is listed on the firm's website. Without a public regulatory filing or named LP disclosure, any number would be an estimate — and Altss has chosen not to assign one.
Which sectors does Step Holdings target?
The firm is explicitly focused on early-stage technology ventures in China. Its website does not list sector exclusions or preference tags beyond the broad 'technological innovation' framing. The fund-of-funds practice covers seed, start-up, venture and growth stages, suggesting exposure across software, hardware and potentially life sciences within that mandate.
How is Step Holdings governed, and who runs investment decisions?
The firm's website includes a team page (团队介绍) but does not name specific investment principals, decision-makers, or governance bodies. Altss has not identified a named CEO, CIO, or managing partner in public records. Attribution of investment authority remains undisclosed.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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