Who Is Kang Wei? Hexi Founder Faces Police Probe

The reported investigation has brought attention to Kang’s business history, his long-running partnership with Huang and the regulatory actions involving investment companies associated with him. It has also revived questions about the circumstances in which Huang became a major shareholder in Hexi and how the firm changed after Kang’s former business partner Zhu Xiaoming left in 2017.

However, the allegations against Kang remain allegations. Reports about his detention and the suspected stock manipulation case have not been accompanied by a publicly available final criminal judgment establishing his guilt.

Who Is Kang Wei?

Kang Wei is a Chinese private equity executive and fund manager best known as the founder of Shanghai Hexi Investment Management Co., also referred to as Hexi Capital or Hexi Investment. The firm was established in 2010 and became involved in investments across areas including technology, gaming and data centres.

According to reporting by Chinese financial publication Caixin, Kang was 51 in 2026. He had already built a career in investment management before establishing Hexi. Caixin reported that he was leading Zhonghai Fund at the age of 32 in 2007, three years before setting up his own investment firm.

Kang’s business activities have attracted attention because of the scale and structure of some of Hexi’s investments, as well as regulatory findings concerning disclosure requirements and corporate control. His name has also become more widely known because of his reported marriage and business partnership with Alice Huang, whose Chinese name is Huang Le.

Although Kang has generally maintained a lower public profile than Huang, his role in building Hexi and managing its investments made him a central figure in the firm’s history. Reports describe him as the firm’s founder and controller, with Huang later becoming a major shareholder and senior executive.

Kang Wei’s Business Partnership With Alice Huang

Kang and Alice Huang reportedly worked together for nearly a decade through Hexi Investment. Caixin, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the two were married and jointly managed private investment funds. Their professional relationship became particularly important after Huang joined the firm in 2015.

Huang entered the financial industry before moving into private equity. Records and company materials cited in reports identify her as having held positions at HSBC’s private banking business in Hong Kong and CITIC Securities in China. She subsequently joined Hexi, where she became deputy general manager, an executive director and a member of its investment decision committee.

The ownership structure of Hexi changed around the time Huang joined. According to Caixin’s reporting, Kang held approximately 48.75% of the firm, Zhu Xiaoming owned around 26.25%, and Huang received a 25% stake transferred from Kang. Her interest was held through Shanghai Yunxi Investment Management Consulting.

The transfer gave Huang a significant ownership position in a company that Kang had founded and previously operated with Zhu. It also placed her at the centre of Hexi’s investment and management activities.

The reported marriage between Kang and Huang has attracted renewed attention because Huang has recently become a subject of international coverage involving Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. The two Huangs are not related. Jensen Huang has acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife, but his statement did not identify the woman involved.

Separately, reports have discussed allegations that Alice Huang had links to Chinese intelligence. Those claims have not been independently established by Reuters, and China’s Foreign Ministry has rejected them. They should not be confused with the separate financial and regulatory scrutiny involving Kang and Hexi.

Why Kang Wei and Zhu Xiaoming Parted Ways

Before Huang became a major shareholder, Hexi was primarily run by Kang and business partner Zhu Xiaoming. Their partnership eventually broke down in 2017 following disagreements over the distribution of investment profits and bonuses.

Caixin reported that the dispute became particularly serious during the second half of 2017. One issue involved the allocation of gains connected to Hexi’s investment in Zhejiang Century Huatong, a Chinese company whose shares had risen substantially after the investment.

Hexi had invested approximately 20 million yuan in Century Huatong in 2014, acquiring around 2.79 million shares at 7.17 yuan per share. Its holdings subsequently increased to approximately 5.58 million shares. By September 2017, the stock had reached 34.20 yuan, putting the value of the holding above 190 million yuan.

The increase represented a substantial paper gain compared with the original investment. The disagreement over how the resulting gains and related bonuses should be distributed reportedly contributed to tensions between Kang and Zhu.

The conflict eventually led Zhu to leave Hexi in October 2017. The two sides subsequently became involved in legal disputes concerning bonuses and alleged damage to the company, according to Caixin’s account.

After Zhu’s departure, Hexi’s management became more closely associated with Kang and Huang. The change marked an important stage in the firm’s development, as Huang’s position expanded from senior executive and shareholder to a central business partner of its founder.

The breakdown of the Kang-Zhu partnership also helps explain why Huang’s arrival and ownership transfer were significant. She entered a firm that was already involved in substantial investments and became part of its leadership during a period of internal restructuring.

Kang Wei Under Investigation Over Suspected Stock Manipulation

The latest reports about Kang concern suspected manipulation of listed shares. Caixin reported that Shanghai police placed him under detention around the Lunar New Year period in February 2026 as part of an investigation into suspected stock price manipulation.

The reported police action followed earlier regulatory scrutiny of Kang and investment vehicles associated with him. However, the available reporting does not establish that the suspected criminal conduct has been proven in court. The investigation and the administrative penalties imposed by securities regulators are separate matters.

The distinction is important because regulatory findings involving disclosure violations do not automatically establish criminal stock manipulation. A criminal investigation must examine the relevant transactions, financial records, control arrangements and other evidence before responsibility can be determined.

China’s Securities Regulator Previously Penalised Kang

Kang has faced multiple penalties from China’s securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The earlier actions concerned investment structures and the disclosure of control over companies.

In 2018, the CSRC fined Hexi Investment 17.7 million yuan and Kang 400,000 yuan. The regulator found that Hexi had failed to properly aggregate shareholdings connected to an investment arrangement involving Huiqiu, allowing the relevant holdings to exceed the disclosure threshold without the required reporting.

Caixin reported that the combined shareholding reached approximately 8.3% in March 2015. The investment structure involved financing arrangements that helped support the acquisition of a substantial stake in the company. The regulator’s action focused on the failure to make the required disclosures.

Kang faced another major regulatory penalty in 2025 in connection with his influence over Hollyland, a Chinese company. Investment vehicles controlled by Kang had agreed to acquire a 29.91% stake in the company in 2020 for approximately 927 million yuan.

Regulatory findings later indicated that Kang had significant influence over the company, although another individual had been identified as its sole controller. In August 2025, the CSRC fined Kang 2.5 million yuan and another individual, Tang Qiqing, 1.5 million yuan in connection with the case.

Kang also received a warning from the regulator’s Xiamen office in June 2026 over related-party transactions, according to Caixin’s reporting.

These regulatory actions have contributed to scrutiny of Kang’s investment methods and the structures through which he exercised influence over companies. They also form part of the background to the reported police investigation into suspected stock manipulation.

What Is Known About the Reported Police Action?

The reported detention is significant because it moves the scrutiny beyond administrative penalties and into a potential criminal investigation. Caixin’s account said Shanghai police took action against Kang in February 2026 over suspected stock manipulation.

However, publicly available information about the investigation remains limited. Reports have not provided a complete account of the transactions under investigation, the identities of all potentially involved parties or the precise evidence being examined by police.

There is also no publicly established final court finding in the available reporting that Kang committed the suspected offence. His reported detention should therefore not be treated as proof of guilt.

The distinction between a regulatory penalty and a criminal case is particularly important in financial investigations. Securities regulators can impose administrative sanctions for disclosure and market-rule violations, while criminal proceedings require a separate legal process and evidence sufficient to establish an offence.

What Happened to Hexi Investment After the Split?

Hexi Investment’s business history extended beyond its ownership dispute and regulatory penalties. The firm and investment entities connected to Kang and Huang participated in transactions involving gaming companies, technology businesses and data-centre projects.

One area of activity involved Zhejiang Century Huatong. Hexi’s investment in the company became particularly valuable as its share price increased, although the disagreement over the distribution of gains reportedly contributed to the conflict between Kang and Zhu.

Hexi-linked entities were also involved in transactions connected to Hangzhou Shengfeng and the gaming industry. Caixin reported that a partnership controlled by Kang acquired economic interests in Hangzhou Shengfeng in a transaction valued at 500 million yuan. The deal generated a reported after-tax gain of 413 million yuan.

The firm and associated investors later participated in data-centre-related projects. These included investments connected to Shanghai Longrui, a project linked to Tencent, as well as proposed developments in Shenzhen and Wuhu.

The expansion into data centres is relevant to the wider story because Huang later became involved in Singapore-based Megaspeed International, a company operating in cloud computing and AI infrastructure. The transition from Chinese private equity and technology investments to overseas computing infrastructure connected parts of the business history of Kang and Huang.

Hexi-linked investors also had connections to 7Road, a gaming business that later became part of the ownership structure associated with Megaspeed’s earlier corporate history. These overlapping interests help explain why the professional relationship between Kang and Huang continues to attract attention in reports about the international AI industry.

However, the existence of business connections does not establish that every later transaction involving Huang or Megaspeed was directed by Kang. The ownership and control of companies changed over time, and those relationships need to be assessed through the relevant corporate records.

Alice Huang’s Education and Career Before Hexi Investment

Alice Huang, whose Chinese name is Huang Le, had a professional background spanning media, banking and investment management before joining Hexi. Publicly available information about her early life and education is incomplete, and some details in media reports have not been independently verified.

Earlier profiles have described her as having worked in television journalism, including roles associated with China Central Television and Hunan Television. Reports have also said she moved to Hong Kong in the mid-2000s and pursued postgraduate studies in media at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Her later professional history is more closely documented through financial-industry records and company materials. Caixin reported that she entered finance in 2008, including junior roles at HSBC’s Hong Kong private banking business and work connected to CITIC Securities.

She joined Shanghai Hexi Investment in November 2015 and became a deputy general manager and member of the firm’s investment decision committee. Her 25% stake in the business, reportedly transferred from Kang, gave her an important ownership position alongside the firm’s founder and Zhu Xiaoming.

Her responsibilities at Hexi included involvement in investment activities and business development. The firm’s work across gaming, technology and data-centre projects provided a foundation for her later involvement in overseas technology infrastructure.

From Shanghai Private Equity to Megaspeed International

Huang’s career later moved beyond China’s domestic investment sector. In 2023, she became the controlling shareholder of Singapore-based Megaspeed International, according to corporate records reviewed by Reuters and research cited by the news agency.

Megaspeed, which had previously operated under the name 7Road International, developed a business in cloud computing and AI infrastructure. Nvidia listed the company as an official cloud partner, bringing it into the wider ecosystem of businesses providing access to computing capacity powered by advanced graphics processing units.

Huang became a director and managing director of the company’s Indonesian subsidiary during 2023. However, corporate filings showed that Megaspeed’s shares were transferred to another company later that year and that she subsequently left its board.

Questions about who continued to exercise influence over Megaspeed have remained part of the wider scrutiny surrounding the company. A research organisation cited by Reuters said it could not determine the ultimate controller of the company that received the shares, although it assessed that Huang may have continued to exercise influence.

Megaspeed has also faced scrutiny over whether its business helped Chinese customers access advanced Nvidia chips restricted under US export controls. Reuters reported that there had been no public finding establishing that the company violated those rules. Shipments of Nvidia hardware to Indonesia, by themselves, do not prove that export restrictions were breached.

Why Kang Wei’s Case Has Attracted International Attention

Kang’s reported investigation might ordinarily be viewed as a matter involving China’s private equity and securities markets. However, the connection to Alice Huang has brought the case into a much wider discussion involving Nvidia, AI infrastructure and US-China technology competition.

Huang’s business history links her to Hexi Investment, while her later involvement with Megaspeed placed her in the international cloud-computing sector. Megaspeed’s relationship with Nvidia and scrutiny over access to advanced AI processors have made her background a subject of interest to journalists and investigators.

At the same time, allegations concerning Huang’s possible links to Chinese intelligence have raised separate questions about national security. Reuters has said it could not independently verify those intelligence allegations. China’s government has rejected them, while Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation into reports that its chief executive was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

Nvidia has said it has no reason to believe that national security information or company trade secrets were compromised. Jensen Huang has also said he was unaware of the alleged intelligence activity while acknowledging personal infidelity in an internal communication.

These developments have created several overlapping stories, but they should not be treated as a single proven case. Kang’s regulatory history, the reported police investigation, Megaspeed’s business activities and the intelligence allegations concerning Huang involve different questions and different standards of evidence.

What Happens Next in the Kang Wei Investigation?

The next significant development will be whether Chinese authorities release further information about the reported investigation and clarify the allegations against Kang. Details about the transactions under scrutiny, any formal charges and the status of proceedings would help establish the scope of the case.

For Hexi Investment, questions also remain about its current operations and the status of funds associated with the firm. Caixin reported that the company manages assets estimated at between 1 billion and 2 billion yuan, has a staff of around 11 people and has funds caught in liquidation processes.

The firm’s current position contrasts with its earlier involvement in large investments across technology, gaming and data centres. Its business history, however, remains relevant to understanding how Kang built Hexi and how Huang became a major figure in its management.

For now, Kang Wei is best understood as the founder of Hexi Investment, a Chinese fund manager whose business dealings have drawn regulatory scrutiny and whose reported detention has prompted questions about suspected stock manipulation. His reported marriage and long-running business partnership with Alice Huang have added an international dimension to the story, but the central allegations against him remain subject to the legal process.