While patient capital offers distinct risk-bearing advantages for long-cycle R&D in high-performance fiber materials, its development in China remains constrained by structural imbalances on the financial supply side. Addressing these financing gaps is essential to support the capital-intensive technical upgrades and weaving technology innovations required for modern textile engineering. Drawing on the synergistic interaction between the government’s “anchor investment” and market-based “co-investment,” this paper empirically investigates the impact of government investment funds on the development of patient capital and its underlying mechanisms. The findings indicate that government investment funds significantly promote the development of patient capital. Mechanism analysis shows that, guided by the government’s anchor investment, such funds effectively generate financing incentives, signaling effects, and innovation protection, which collectively foster the growth of patient capital. Meanwhile, through the leverage effect of market co-investment, optimizing the internal corporate environment (enhancing risk-bearing capacity and reducing financial dependence) and improving the external corporate environment (deepening market development and perfecting the legal and institutional environment) positively moderate the facilitative effect of government investment funds on patient capital development. The facilitative effect is more pronounced in capital-intensive industries, high-tech sectors, less competitive markets, stateowned enterprises, large-scale enterprises, and growth-stage enterprises. This paper not only provides new theoretical interpretations and empirical evidence on the causal relationship between government investment funds and patient capital, but also offers academic support and decision-making references for better leveraging government roles, mobilizing more social capital into venture investment, and accelerating the construction of a strong financial nation.

government investment funds, patient capital, government leadership in investment, market followership in investment, textile engineering