Qiming Venture Partners, just raised $648 million from investors including Princeton University and Duke University. It’s the firm’s largest fund since it was founded in 2006 and brings assets under management to $2.5 billion. It’s also the eighth largest China-based fund ever, according to consultancy Preqin Ltd. “It’s a bet on the entrepreneurship of China,” said Gary Rieschel, Shanghai-based founding partner at the firm, also known as Qiming Weichuang Venture Capital Management Shanghai Co. In its decade in the business, the firm has backed smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp., restaurant review site Dianping and online education service iTutorGroup. Qiming backed Xiaomi when it was worth just $100 million, he said; its valuation topped $45 billion when it raised money just over a year ago, making it the second most-valuable startup in the world after Uber Technologies Inc.