Northern Light Venture Capital Forms $400 Million Fund

HONG KONG and MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2011) - Northern Light Venture Capital ("NLVC"), a leading China-focused early stage venture capital firm, today announced that it has closed Northern Light Venture Fund III LP, (together with its parallel funds, "NLVF III"), with $400 million in committed capital. The capital was committed by leading institutional investors from the United States, Europe and Asia.

NLVC plans to continue its focus on information technology, consumer services and clean-technology opportunities, as well as expand its interest in China's fast-growing healthcare sector. Through two existing U.S. dollar funds and two Renminbi (Chinese onshore) funds, the firm has invested in more than 60 portfolio companies. Portfolio companies include Spreadtrum Communications (NASDAQ: SPRD), Hanting Hotels (NASDAQ: HTHT), Kaixin001.com, and Velo City. NLVC has been focused on early stage opportunities since its founding in 2005 with over two-thirds of its portfolio today initially invested at seed or early stage.

"China continues to be a compelling market and is poised to lead global innovation. The entrepreneurial spirit and many elements that shaped Silicon Valley are also taking hold here," said Deng Feng, Founding Managing Director, Northern Light Venture Capital. "Additionally, we see exceptional opportunities in the domestic market driven by mega-trends such as urbanization and the evolution of middle class consumption patterns."

NLVC is led by a partnership of accomplished local Chinese and "returnee" executives ("returnees" are those who grew up in mainland China but studied or worked abroad before returning) with significant investing and entrepreneurial accomplishments. Furthermore, most of the NLVC investing team members have engineering or technical backgrounds, supporting NLVC's attraction to early stage technology-enabled business opportunities.

Greylock Partners and New Enterprise Associates, both of Silicon Valley and two of the world's leading venture capital firms, continue their affiliation with NLVC as special limited partners of NLVF III and will continue to provide strategic support and cooperate in evaluating certain investment opportunities.

"NEA has supported Northern Light from its founding, and we're very pleased to continue to do so. We believe that the opportunity to apply the lessons of Silicon Valley to China is very compelling, and Feng and his team are world class," said Scott Sandell, General Partner, New Enterprise Associates (NEA).

"We are pleased to continue our support of Northern Light and believe they are a key strategic partner for Greylock in China," said David Sze, Partner, Greylock Partners, continuing: "We look forward to working closely together with them for the long term."

About Northern Light Venture Capital
Northern Light Venture Capital (NLVC) is a leading China-focused venture capital firm targeting early stage information technology, consumer service, clean technology, and healthcare opportunities. Leveraging significant investing and entrepreneurial expertise in both China and the United States, the NLVC team looks to support entrepreneurs who understand the Chinese market opportunity and help them, behind the scenes, to build world-class companies. The funds managed by NLVC are supported by leading institutional investors from United States, Europe and Asia, including sovereign funds, family offices, endowments and foundations. The firm was founded in 2005 and is legally headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Menlo Park, California. For additional information, visit http://www.nlvc.com.