5Y News | DJI-Linked AI Nature Exploration Startup Deeplore Raises Tens of Millions of Yuan in Seed Round

Deeplore, an underwater AI natural exploration technology company, recently completed a seed round of tens of millions of RMB, jointly invested by 5Y Capital and Shunwei Capital. The funds will primarily go toward expanding the R&D team and deepening underwater AI technology, accelerating the iterative development of its first AI diving mask, and building the technical foundation for an underwater natural exploration intelligence platform.

A group of DJI veterans, having spent over a decade in the consumer electronics industry, have shifted their gaze from the sky to the deep sea.

Founded in Shenzhen in 2025, Deeplore's core team largely hails from DJI, covering the full chain from product definition and hardcore R&D to global commercialization — a classic "technology + mass production + globalization" combination.

Image source: Deeplore

What's more distinctive is that all three founders are avid divers and outdoor enthusiasts. Founder Qiu Li is a rescue diver with 200+ logged dives, formerly a core structural expert at DJI and head of the energy business unit, who later accumulated complete zero-to-one operational experience as co-founder of Senhe Innovation. Co-founder Zhou Zhenhao spent over a decade at DJI, leading power system R&D for benchmark products including Phantom and Mavic, and also holds rescue diver certification with 100+ dives. Co-founder Gu Minming brings 20 years of global brand marketing and channel experience; her founded Neakasa successfully entered mainstream Western retail channels including Best Buy and Home Depot, and she is herself a dedicated outdoor sports enthusiast.

"Explorers for Explorers" was this team's starting point. Because they themselves had endured the inconveniences of traditional diving gear, and could see clearly that this track, monopolized by overseas brands for years, had long failed to keep pace with users' real needs for recording, safety, and sharing — they decided to build it themselves.

This is an undervalued, high-value blue ocean: over 40 million certified divers globally, with strong willingness to pay, product rationality valued over brand loyalty, and extremely efficient word-of-mouth spread within the community — yet the industry as a whole remains at a very low level of intelligence, with functionally fragmented traditional equipment no longer matching explorers' needs.

Deeplore chose to break in through the diving mask, the core underwater entry point, creating an AI-driven intelligent underwater mask system. Built on three core technologies — native multi-medium optical design, underwater HUD heads-up display, and edge AI marine life recognition — it systematically reconstructs the underwater exploration experience, helping users retain more authentic and perfect diving memories.

Below are excerpts from 36Kr's interview with Deeplore founder Qiu Li:

36Kr: Why did you choose to enter the underwater exploration track instead of continuing in mature tracks like drones or consumer electronics?

Qiu Li: I'm a rescue diver with 200+ dives myself, so I've personally felt the many pain points of traditional diving equipment. Looking at the industry, overseas brands have long held a monopoly, products haven't seen fundamental upgrades in years, and underwater exploration has barely begun its intelligent transformation — there's massive market white space.

At the same time, diving is a high-value blue ocean with strong user willingness to pay and efficient community-driven spread. Our team has mature hardware R&D, mass production, and overseas expansion experience, and can transplant proven consumer electronics methodologies to this track. We are explorers ourselves, and want to make products that truly solve user pain points.

36Kr: Where does the team's core moat lie? Compared to other underwater equipment manufacturers, what's your differentiated advantage?

Qiu Li: The core moat mainly has four dimensions:

First, the systems engineering and mass production capabilities accumulated from the DJI system, with mature reliability control and large-scale delivery experience that can adapt to the stringent demands of underwater extreme environments;

Second, self-developed core technologies in native underwater optics, underwater AR display, and edge AI, with independent patents that competitors would find difficult to replicate in the short term;

Third, the team itself consists of deep diving users — all designs are refined based on real underwater scenarios, never detached from actual usage needs;

Fourth, the team has years of deep understanding and operational experience in Western markets, particularly familiarity with how Western offline retail channels operate, which can support global product rollout.

36Kr: In terms of product functionality and user experience, what are the core innovations?

Qiu Li: What we're building is an AI-driven intelligent underwater mask system, with core innovations concentrated in three dimensions that systematically solve the pain points of traditional diving equipment and help users retain more complete diving memories.

The first is an industry-first native underwater optical system design. Rather than following the traditional "camera + waterproof housing" approach, the lens contacts water directly, with native optical calibration specifically for underwater environments. This fundamentally solves problems of poor resolution, limited FOV, and severe chromatic aberration, achieving industry-leading underwater imaging performance — this is also our core technical moat.

The second is underwater HUD heads-up display, which presents critical diving data in the user's field of view without distraction, eliminating the need to raise a hand and check a gauge. This truly frees both hands, allowing users to stay focused on the underwater environment throughout the dive while also improving safety.

The third is edge AI marine life recognition. Relying on real-time edge AI capabilities, it automatically identifies marine life and triggers intelligent recording, adding both fun and educational value to the exploration process while automatically capturing users' underwater highlights.

36Kr: What is the product commercialization path and market plan?

Qiu Li: We adopt a top-down brand approach. The first product is positioned in the mid-to-high-end segment, initially cutting into the professional diving community to build word-of-mouth, then gradually establishing a product gradient to cover broader user groups. On the channel side, we'll simultaneously push domestic professional diving channels and Western mainstream retail markets, leveraging the team's years of overseas offline channel experience to quickly achieve global commercial rollout.

36Kr: Deeplore's long-term platform vision of "extending from underwater to all-domain natural exploration" — how specifically will this be implemented?

Qiu Li: At this stage we're focused on the underwater track, with the AI diving mask as the core vehicle, thoroughly mastering underlying technologies like underwater optics, AR display, and edge AI, and refining the full-chain experience for underwater sports exploration.

In the long term, we'll rely on accumulated technologies in AI perception, portable imaging, and lightweight displays to gradually expand into other water sports, and further into more outdoor scenarios like mountaineering and hiking, building a complete natural exploration intelligence platform. We always adhere to "Explorers for Explorers," using technology to lower the barrier to exploration, helping more people deeply explore nature and continuously push the boundaries of human capability.

36Kr: What are the main uses of this round of funding? What are the next-stage development plans?

Qiu Li: The funds will mainly go into two directions: first, expanding the R&D team, bringing in more specialized talent in optics, AR, AI algorithms, underwater structures, and other fields to continuously strengthen our technical moat; second, accelerating testing and mass production of the first AI diving mask, and improving the supporting content sharing system.

The short-term goal is to complete product launch and establish core channels at home and abroad; in the medium to long term, we'll gradually expand the full-scenario natural exploration product line, building a globally leading AI natural exploration technology platform.