Zhang Shoucheng, a professor of physics at Stanford University and a founding partner of Danhua Capital (DHVC), was found dead on Dec 1st. According to his family, he was battling depression at the time. He was known as a world-renowned physicist and was internationally recognized for his work in quantum science.

In 2013, Zhang set up Danhua Capital, which focuses on funding artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, and blockchain technology, among others. They invested in a number of major blockchain projects including NEO, Ontology, Zilliqa, TRON, OPEN and more.

Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, tweeted:

#TRON condolence to Professor Zhang Shoucheng' families. It is a great loss to the #blockchain industry. R.I.P. #DHVC — Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) December 6, 2018

Suspicions of Foul Play

The buzz around Chinese netizens is that they are suspicious of foul play although nothing has been confirmed. Some were trying to find links between Zhang’s death and recent China-US relations. There is a possible US government investigation under Section 301 of US trade law into Zhang’s Danhua Capital which started these rumors.

Family representatives, however, have denied these claims saying, “There is no truth to this uninformed speculation”.