About Cenova
Cenova is a venture capital firm founded in 2010. It is primarily based out of Xuhui, China. As of Mar 2025, Cenova has invested in 73 companies. It primarily invests in Series A round in China based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Life Sciences to HealthTech and Enterprise Applications. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series D round of Vivace Therapeutics Overall, Cenova portfolio has seen 1 unicorn, 4 IPOs and 3 acquisitions including key companies like ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, Optomed and Aidikang Medical Laboratory Center. A lot of funds co-invest with Cenova, with names like Sequoia Capital China sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Cenova has team of 11 people including 4 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Series B & 3 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Cenova's List of Top Investments
Cenova has a portfolio of 73 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investments are in Umer and Nanyan Information Technology.Their portfolio spans across China, United States and Singapore. They have invested in Life Sciences, HealthTech, Enterprise Applications and 8 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Series B and 3 more. Here is the list of top investments by Cenova:
1. ENSEM
Developer of transformative therapies for the treatment of cancer. The company leverages the Kinetic Ensemble platform that integrates computational and AI deep learning methodologies to develop small molecule precision medicines for oncology indications.
Key facts about ENSEM
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Boston (United States)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $67M
- Employee Count: 21 as on Feb 28, 2026
- Investors: GGV Capital, Mitsui Global Investment and 3 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Apr 06, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
ASLAN Pharmaceuticals is an oncology-focused company developing a portfolio of targeted drugs, focusing on gastric, bile duct and breast cancers. The Company’s proprietary pipeline of 4 development-stage candidates addresses multiple indications including gastric and breast cancers and inflammatory diseases. ASLAN’s most advanced compounds are ASLAN001 which is pan-HER inhibitor with phase 2 data in gastric cancer, being developed in cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancer and gastric cancer, and ASLAN002, which targets RON, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, and cMET receptor tyrosine kinases, being developed in gastric and breast cancer.
Key facts about ASLAN Pharmaceuticals
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: Singapore (Singapore)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $100M
- Employee Count: 43 as on Apr 19, 2024
- Investors: BVF Partners, Sagamore Investment Management and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Mar 02, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Vivace Therapeutics is a developer of cancer therapeutics targeting a novel cancer pathway. It is developing its therapy based on targeting the cancer pathway. The company has lead therapy that targets the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway. The platform tech is focusing on bispecific antibodies that claim to have “super potent” qualities designed to promote binding “in a nearly irreversible and cell-type-specific manner to target cells.
Key facts about Vivace Therapeutics
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Orinda (United States)
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $105M
- Employee Count: 12 as on Feb 28, 2026
- Investors: Boxer Capital, RA Capital Management and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Mar 12, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Optomed
Provider of handheld fundus cameras and software solutions for eye screening. The company offers handheld fundus cameras with integrated software and artificial intelligence with the aim to transform the diagnostic process of blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and edema.
Key facts about Optomed
- Founded Year: 2004
- Location: Alpharetta (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $4.92M
- Employee Count: 114 as on Dec 31, 2022
- Investors: Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Tech Emerge and 6 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Jul 31, 2019, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Developer of therapeutics for ocular disorders. It offers a pipeline of drug candidates EB-101 for wet AMD, EB-102 for diabetic macular edema, EB-105 for retinal vascular diseases, EB-108 for wet AMD, and others.
Key facts about Eluminex Biosciences
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Suzhou (China)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $90M
- Employee Count: 12 as on Feb 28, 2026
- Investors: Guangzhou Yuexiu Industrial Investment Fund Management, Hillhouse and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Feb 27, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Cenova's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Cenova has invested in 73 companies over the last 13 years, with an average of 3 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 2 investments. Its most recent first time investment was in Micro Pulse Value and most recent follow-on round was in Vivace Therapeutics.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2022 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
2021 | 10 | 1 | 11 |
2020 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Cenova's Investments by Stage
Cenova has made 11 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $26.6M, 10 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $21.2M, 5 investments in Series C stage with an average round size of $52.3M, 3 investments in Series D stage with an average round size of $39.8M and 2 investments in Seed stage.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 11 |
Series B | 10 |
Series C | 5 |
Series D | 3 |
Seed | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Cenova's Investments by Sector
Cenova has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Life Sciences, Healthcare, HealthTech, Enterprise Applications and Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications. Notably, it has invested in 43 Tech companies, 37 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 15 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 12 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Life Sciences | 14 |
Healthcare | 10 |
HealthTech | 6 |
Enterprise Applications | 2 |
Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications | 1 |
Others | 5 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Cenova's Investments by Geography
Cenova has made most investments in China (25), followed by United States where it has made 5 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
China | 25 |
United States | 5 |
Singapore | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Cenova's recent investments
Cenova has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Cenova:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 12, 2025 | United States | Series D | 5396 | ||
Jan 17, 2025 | China | Series D | 7683 | [+1] | |
Mar 01, 2023 | China | Seed | 4112 | ||
Feb 27, 2023 | China | Series B | 3385 | ||
Nov 07, 2022 | China | Series A | 8851 |
Unicorns in Cenova's Portfolio
Cenova has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - LinkDoc. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is LinkDoc which became a unicorn in 2018, 2 years after Cenova first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Cenova's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
46 | Provider of the oncology-focused database | 2014 | Haidian | Series D | qqvdige |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Cenova's Portfolio
4 of Cenova's portfolio companies have become public. Aidikang Medical Laboratory Center got listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges (HKG), in Jun 2023 at marketcap of $1.14B and APlus Biotechnology got listed on the Taipei Stock Exchange (TT).Here are Cenova's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 30, 2023 | Jan 26, 2021 | Series C | 9523 | |
Jan 06, 2023 | - | - | 9844 | |
Dec 06, 2019 | Oct 10, 2013 | Series B | 7463 | |
Dec 05, 2019 | Dec 05, 2014 | Series A | 3871 |
Acquired companies in Cenova's Portfolio
3 companies from Cenova's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition were AnHeart Therapeutics in Mar 2024 by Nuvation Bio.Here are Cenova's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 25, 2024 | Dec 14, 2021 | Series C | 6958 | |
Feb 01, 2021 | Feb 06, 2018 | Series B | 8512 | |
May 19, 2020 | Aug 2019 | Series B | 6983 |
Team profile of Cenova
Cenova has a team of 11 members including 4 Partners and 3 Principals located in China. Cenova's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of top team members in Cenova:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Shanghai | - | - | |
Partner | Hong Kong | - | - | |
Partner | Xuhui | - | - | |
Partner | Shanghai | - | - |
Co-investors of Cenova
Over the past 13 years, 151 investors have co-invested in Cenova's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Cenova: 6 Dimensions Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures and 45 others have invested in rounds before Cenova. There are 2 companies where 6 Dimensions Capital has invested before Cenova and 2 companies where Lilly Asia Ventures has invested before Cenova.
- Top Co-investors of Cenova: 59 investors entered a company along with Cenova. These include investors like Sequoia Capital China (2 companies).
- Invested after Cenova: A total of 45 investors have invested in Cenova's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include MVP Capital Partners (1 company), Top Taiwan Venture Capital (1 company) and Milestone Capital (1 company).
Recent News related to Cenova
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Vivace closes $35m in Series D for cancer drug developmentPharmaceutical Technology•Mar 13, 2025•Vivace Therapeutics, RA Capital Management, Canaan, Cenova
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Weimai bags RMB200m in Series D funding to enhance tech-enabled, continuous healthcare servicesPR Newswire•Jan 07, 2025•Micro Pulse Value, CNCB Investment, Weimai, Weimai and 4 others
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Pulnovo Medical Inhales Tens of Millions Dollars Funding to Accelerate Global GrowthPR Newswire•Nov 07, 2022•Cenova, Pulnovo Medical, Yuanbio Venture Capital, Orbimed and 2 others
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