Ning Jin's Avantyr Capital Launches with $1 Billion Target, Hires from Viking Global, Coatue, KKR, and Blackstone.

Ning Jin, former CIO of Viking Global, is launching Avantyr Capital, a long-short equity manager, with $1 billion in assets. The firm has hired from Coatue, KKR, and Blackstone, and its team includes Terrence Cheng, Adam Marcus, Lea Zhang, Christopher Parks, Andrew Seketa, and Christopher Fletcher. Avantyr plans to invest in technology, media, telecoms, consumer, financials, and industrials sectors, and will use AI tools and alternative datasets for research.

Ning Jin, the former CIO of Viking Global, is set to launch Avantyr Capital, a new long-short equity manager, later this year. The fund, with an expected initial asset under management of $1 billion, has already begun assembling a team of experienced investment professionals. The new firm has hired individuals from prominent institutions such as Coatue, KKR, and Blackstone, and has filed its first regulatory filings this week [1].

Avantyr Capital's team includes Terrence Cheng, who will lead industrials research, Adam Marcus, who will focus on financials, Lea Zhang, who will handle tech and consumer investments, Christopher Parks, who will be a TMT analyst, and Andrew Seketa, who will be a TMT analyst as well. Christopher Fletcher, a former KKR staffer, will also join the team as an analyst. Additionally, former Viking analyst Alex Mendez and ex-Tourbillon executive Sunjay Mishra are among the early investing hires [2].

The firm plans to invest in a wide range of sectors, including technology, media, telecoms, consumer, financials, and industrials. Avantyr Capital will use deep fundamental research, alternative datasets, and artificial intelligence tools to evaluate companies in these sectors. The firm aims to be rooted in these principles, as stated in its regulatory filings [1].

Ning Jin, who left Viking Global after 17 years, has named his new venture Avantyr Capital after the Italian word "avanti," which means forward or ahead. He joins a growing list of former CIOs from Tiger Cub hedge funds who have gone on to start their own funds, including D1's Dan Sundheim, Alua's Tom Purcell, and Anomaly's Ben Jacobs [1].

The launch of Avantyr Capital comes at a time when the hedge fund industry is experiencing significant growth and innovation. The firm's focus on AI and alternative datasets for research is a reflection of the evolving investment landscape, where data-driven insights are becoming increasingly important.

References:
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/ning-jin-new-hedge-fund-avantyr-capital-team-investors-2025-8
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-team-behind-ning-jins-221906760.html