Chen Tianqiao says he may add $2 billion to AI venture MiroMind

Chen Tianqiao, the founder of Chinese online gaming company Shanda, said he has put $2 billion of his own money into artificial intelligence and is prepared to commit a further $2 billion if he cannot raise enough from outside investors, according to a Financial Times interview published on Oct. 5, 2026.

Chen, 53, who leads Shanda Investment Group, has moved his AI work out of China toward the United States and Singapore. He founded MiroMind in California in April 2025 to build AI models for scientific and industrial uses, initially drawing on research teams in Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore. On Jan. 16, 2026, the company closed its Beijing and Shanghai operations and cut off China-based researchers from its overseas code and data, rebuilding research in the U.S. and Singapore.

Much of the effort now centers on Apodex, launched in June 2026, a system aimed at problems including drug discovery and gene-therapy delivery. Chen said he is targeting $1 billion in contracted revenue and break-even by June 2027, and a public listing by the end of 2027. "I spent three years taking my gaming company public on Nasdaq," he said.

Shanda's 2004 Nasdaq listing briefly made Chen China's richest person. Forbes estimates his fortune at about $1.3 billion.

This story was first reported by VnExpress International.