Picus Capital opens office in China, former JD.com exec to head operations

Picus Capital, a venture capital firm based in Germany, announced the expansion of its operations in China with the establishment of a Beijing office, which will be spearheaded by former JD.com executive Alexander Kremer.

Alexander Kremer, partner at Picus Capital / Photo credit: Picus Capital

Alexander Kremer previously served as a director in JD.com’s online grocery division and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He also worked at Mobvoi, a Chinese AI firm, and IBM. Picus said its new office in China will close its first investment in the country within the next two weeks.

Prior to his appointment, Kremer held an advisory role at Picus Capital.

The company plans to pour about US$75 million of its US$300 million global investment volume into early-stage tech startups in Asia over the next two to three years. China is expected to play a “significant” part in the VC firm’s investments in the region.

This is the second office Picus Capital has opened in Asia, after the firm set up an office in Bengaluru, India in December last year. The VC firm also has offices in Munich, Berlin, London, and New York.

Picus Capital Munich office / Source: Picus Capital

Picus Capital invests in pre-seed, seed, and series A financing rounds with a focus on technology companies in the real estate, finance, insurance, human resources, renewable energy, mobility, ecommerce, and healthcare sectors.

The firm has also roped in former senior manager at JD Digits, Li Chen, as the new vice president of Picus Capital in China. Chen will be responsible for identifying promising candidates for investments at the seed or series A stage. Picus Capital will also hire a vice president for the company’s China-based pre-seed investments, along with associates and analysts for its seed and series A teams.

The company intends to increase its total headcount in its China office to four by the end of the year.

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“In line with Picus’ approach in Europe, the Americas, India, and Southeast Asia, we will focus on partnering with aspiring entrepreneurs in China who are searching for a long-term partner with a global perspective,” Kremer said.

The VC firm sees “high potential” in business-to-business, software-as-a-service and cloud offerings, and business models that focus on China’s manufacturing industry.