Sorry — This Year We're Only Hiring M&A Managers

Hiring scramble: from AI analysts to dealmakers

Venture capital and growth-stage investors in China have abruptly shifted recruiting priorities. Instead of AI investment analysts and hard‑tech researchers, firms are racing to hire M&A managers with investment‑banking deal experience and industry buyer networks. It has been reported that some headhunters are handling a dozen clients apiece and that a few firms have dangled annual pay packages up to RMB 2 million for senior hires. One partner at a leading tech investor, speaking under a pseudonym, says his firm plans to grow a two‑person M&A team to five‑to‑seven people — the first concentrated M&A hiring push since the firm’s founding.

Macro, policy and industry forces meeting at the same time

Why the sudden premium on M&A skills? The answer is an unusual convergence of tailwinds. It has been reported that Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, at an Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) event, predicted 2026 could be the biggest M&A year ever — driven by lower rates, fiscal stimulus and an AI capital‑spending supercycle. In China the policy backdrop is reinforcing the trend: the China Securities Regulatory Commission (证监会) and the State‑owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (国资委) have both signalled support for industry consolidation, and regulators in 2024 introduced a set of measures to encourage M&A (the so‑called “并购六条”). Public data shows 305 listed companies set up 321 industry M&A funds in 2025, totaling RMB 2975.11 billion.

Exit logic flips — faster cash, different skill sets

The market evidence is clear: M&A exits are accelerating faster than IPOs. It has been reported that there were 352 M&A exit cases in the first three quarters of 2025, up 84.3% year‑on‑year, and many firms find M&A can deliver liquidity in one to two years versus the three‑to‑five‑year IPO cycle. For Chinese VCs whose 2018–2020 vintage funds are entering payout windows, quicker cash‑on‑cash returns are hard to ignore. That forces a change in hiring: investment teams must now combine valuation and deal‑structuring expertise with operational BD capabilities to court strategic buyers and navigate review processes.

What this means for founders and the market

Does this make IPOs irrelevant? No — listing remains important — but it changes how investors and founders plan exits. Buyers are looking to buy capabilities, data and talent rather than back long, uncertain public stories. Geopolitical frictions — from export controls to stricter foreign investment screening — also reshape which cross‑border deals are feasible, pushing more transactions into domestic consolidation. The upshot: M&A is no longer an afterthought; it is being underwritten from day one of investment. For firms and founders that can mobilize industry channels and translate operational value into deal terms, that makes 2026 a very different kind of exit year.