NIO Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Willliam Li, chief executive of the namesake electric vehicle maker, has raised a new China-focused fund of more than RMB 3 billion ($416.8 million), despite a global market lull and domestic economic challenges. Why it matters: The fundraising milestone will allow NIO Capital to further explore the “transformative potential of innovative technologies in the automotive and energy sectors,” said Ian Zhu, a managing partner at NIO Capital, in a Monday announcement. Speaking to Chinese reporters, a NIO Capital representative stressed the fund’s independence from NIO in its final investment decision-making. Context: The deal comes as global private investment remains soft due to interest rate hikes and economic headwinds. In China, roughly 5,300 private capital funds raised a total of RMB 1.35 trillion during the first nine months of 2023, down 2.1% and 20.2% from a year earlier, according to consultancy Zero2IPO (in Chinese).