5Y News | Graph Origin Raises Several Million USD in Angel Round to Build Low-Barrier Collaborative 3D Creation Engine
Build a 3D content creation tool for the masses.
Online collaborative 3D creation engine startup Graph Origin (图形起源) recently announced the completion of a multi-million-dollar angel round led by 5Y Capital. The funds will be primarily used for developing its online physics engine and multiplayer collaboration architecture, as well as building out its overseas team.
Haitian Shi
Founder & CEO, Graph Origin
Q1
Why did you choose to drop out of your master's program to start a company?
Haitian Shi: I've always wanted to build a great company or organization, and 3D creation has been a passion of mine since childhood. So the question was really just when to start and what opportunity cost to pay. Tsinghua is an excellent learning environment — as a student, you're surrounded by familiar friends and living expenses are minimal. I enjoyed being on campus. But it wasn't what I wanted. It was "comfortable," but it didn't satisfy my "hunger." I was ravenous for the chance to build something great from zero — that's probably a fundamental driver. The philosophers say, know thyself. Once I recognized this need in myself, I chose to suspend my studies and jump straight into the fight.
Q2
What problem is Graph Origin trying to solve, and what value does it aim to create?
Haitian Shi: How did humans pull away from apes? There wasn't a major change in brain volume. The difference likely came from tool use, but even more probably from teamwork. A key enabler of teamwork is the ability to believe in "stories" as information. The human capacity to transmit concrete information about something invisible — that's distinctive.
From vocalizations to language, language to writing, writing to images — we've been transmitting information all along. Take Journey to the West: before it was a book, it spread through oral tradition and storytellers; then it was written down, then illustrated as comics, then adapted into TV series, games, and IP — each step an upgrade in the form of information. As a child, I loved tracing the characters from Journey to the West illustrations. Every time I drew one, I'd imagine what his back looked like, whether I could make him move. Later I learned handicrafts, built models — all attempts to solve one problem: how to express information more "concretely."
Today, humanity has an unprecedented opportunity: using computers to produce and express graphics. This is the accumulation of decades of work in computer graphics.
As a young company founded in 2020, Graph Origin's mission beyond inheriting and advancing existing graphics technology is: to build a series of quality, mass-market products that allow people's information and stories to be created and consumed in graphical form.
Someone once said that people expected entrepreneurs to build flying cars, but instead they got 140 characters (Twitter). But I think 140 characters was also a major innovation — people need to create and transmit information. Weibo and Twitter did give ordinary people a voice, though not everyone can afford a flying car.
The transmission of social information is a fundamental need; experiencing beautiful stories is a fundamental need. But on top of these fundamental needs, text and images are far from the endpoint. People's information will become even more concrete, the experience even better.
Within the next ten years, when people want to express their ideas and creativity through 3D content and graphics, Graph Origin hopes to provide the most intuitive product to meet that need.
Q3
What's been the hardest thing since starting up? And the most fulfilling?
Haitian Shi: The difficulties I've encountered so far are mainly twofold. First, physical distance — the distance from experiential knowledge about "how to start a company correctly"; the distance from potential talent; the distance from potential users. These distances take time to close. You can accelerate with resource over-allocation, but time is still required. The other difficulty comes from excessive expectations. I'm naturally optimistic, so reality often teaches me lessons, haha.
The most fulfilling thing has been steadfastly pushing the values of "radical candor" and "professionalism" at Graph Origin. This sounds simple but is hard to execute, because people — especially high-IQ talent — have an instinct to create information asymmetry. Pushing for extreme information transparency and efficiency is somewhat anti-human nature. But the results are excellent. When talent joins the company, they know what the company is actually doing, how progress is going, what the next major product or funding milestone is, what everyone is thinking, and can clearly identify their own shortcomings. When combined with the company's rapid, healthy business development and gradually sound technical architecture, people feel grounded and purposeful — like their work each day, each month, each year isn't a waste of life. That's deeply fulfilling.
Q4
Is there any "source code" to your thinking pattern, or something you've always believed?
Haitian Shi: First, ordinary people achieve great things; fools create the world. The contours of history are carved out by those who don't know boundaries.
Second, solving problems means "seeking truth from facts" — research more, do more, think less, design less.
Third, be as candid and clear as possible in dealing with people. The highest state is selflessness and egolessness, with eyes only on the goal and the future you envision.
Fourth, I assume the physical properties of the macro world are stable and continuous, so the patterns of things are reproducible — therefore historical experience and methodologies from various disciplines are valid.
Q5
Recommend a work you love and why.
Haitian Shi: The Feynman Lectures on Physics. To learn the basic rules of this world.
Q6
Do you have any idols? Why them?
Haitian Shi: Einstein and Liu Bang. Think problems through clearly; execute things thoroughly.
Q7
At this point in time, many of your peers may be in quite an anxious state — we often see words like "involution" and "lying flat." What's your view on this?
Haitian Shi: Anxiety is real. The moment you open your eyes, countless pressures hit you — pressures of real life, intense competition, fewer advancement opportunities. This is the real world we face. In this environment, it's hard not to feel anxious or even lost. What are you pursuing in life? What is the meaning of each day?
My method for addressing anxiety: immediately stop what you're doing, close your eyes, and think deeply about what you want — what is your original motivation, and is what you're currently doing really serving that motivation? What do you live for? If 2021 were your last year alive, would you be satisfied with what you did, or would you have regrets? For example, I didn't want to exhaust my youth in a rigid environment, so I wanted to enter new industries, new environments. Building your ideal environment yourself is the most direct path.
One crucial point: don't do repetitive learning and work in saturated industries. Most people actually know what the future holds. "Smart" people abound — they can all articulate what is and isn't the future. But you'll find many think without acting; very few start immediately. For instance, some industries' products clearly have no room for further growth, yet major companies remain crowded. The crowding itself gives a sense of security — "everyone's choosing this, so it can't be wrong." But this isn't real security. When times change, no one will save us. Don't pursue this kind of "crowded" security. Look more at opportunities in new domains. The information technology revolution has just begun. Beyond the internet, there's graphics, life sciences, aerospace, traditional manufacturing — many spaces where first-principles innovation is possible. These industries haven't yet grown major companies, but they clearly have growth and can bring opportunities to young people.
You've thought it through and acted, but haven't seen results — that's also normal. You still need to wait for the right timing. Before it arrives, keep going, keep accumulating, build high walls and store ample grain. But this is classic "easier said than done." People are too smart; they think they have choices, that they can pick something better. Those who truly persist have given up numerous tempting,阶段性 opportunities — this is painful, and smart people don't do this.
In fact, choosing is giving up; executing is sacrificing. Your choices and sacrifices are determined by your values. Values determine that you can give up things ordinary people find hard to abandon without feeling distressed. So you must return to the original question: think about your deepest needs.
Of course, many friends ask me — what if you have no积累, no startup capital, no risk tolerance, and don't dare to act or persist in rooting yourself in a new direction? Actually, apart from a few thousand yuan in graduate student subsidies from school, I didn't have much积累 either. Without investors' confidence, we couldn't have started today. If money is the solution to the problem, then find a way to solve it.
At the time, a founder told me (he also started as a broke student): "If you can't figure out a few hundred thousand yuan, you're not a qualified founder." I was then at a point of anxiety, not knowing where to find the first sum of money to hire even one assistant. He dropped this line, and my anxiety immediately vanished. Just do it.
Whether or not you start a company, clarifying what you want, trusting your judgment, entering a direction with a future, starting to execute immediately, and patiently waiting for the right timing — this is my answer to solving anxiety.
Q8
Why did you choose 5Y Capital's investment?
Haitian Shi: The greatest pain for young people isn't lacking money or experience — it's desperately wanting to do something big while lacking both. 5Y's appearance helped this pained young person gain precious startup capital and historical experience in building successful products.
Peter
5Y Capital
Q1
Why invest in Graph Origin?
Peter: Many people are heatedly discussing the metaverse today. In my view, the metaverse is the result of continuous dimensional upgrades in information forms and interaction. From the text forums of the early internet, to image-based forums in the PC internet era, to short video in the mobile internet age — each generation of users pursues more authentic and immersive information forms and interaction methods. On the demand side, the explosive popularity of products like Roblox and Fortnite indicates that a new generation of users is adapted to and demands 3D scenes and content — they are the first generation of 3D natives. Yet the market lacks an easy-to-use tool that lets imaginative users effortlessly create and share their ideas. On the technology side, with the maturation of WebGL, WebAssembly, and other technologies, complex 3D modeling, editing, and rendering in browsers has become possible. Combined with online multiplayer collaboration and real-time interaction capabilities, a new generation of 3D modeling tools could grow into a new platform with hundreds of millions of users for daily creation and interaction. This is why we're bullish on this young, dynamic company.
User creations in the Graph Origin modeling engine
Founded in late 2020 by Tsinghua University undergraduate Haitian Shi during his master's studies, Graph Origin's core product is an online collaborative 3D creation engine for non-professional users, featuring low barriers to entry, online accessibility, multiplayer collaboration, online rendering, and simple physics engine capabilities — greatly satisfying users' social, creative, and leisure needs.
Founder Haitian Shi was originally an art student before entering Tsinghua University's School of Vehicle and Mobility for his undergraduate and master's studies. While pursuing engineering, he maintained a strong interest in 3D graphics creation. He found that most 3D creation tools on the market were highly professional with steep learning curves — ordinary people needed extensive training to get started. So he and his team initially tried building a web-based 3D model editor that received positive feedback in small circles, thus opening the door to entrepreneurship.
Currently, Graph Origin's product is in closed beta, with the first public version expected after the 2022 Spring Festival. Shi stated that the team will focus on continuously optimizing and improving the 3D model creation experience, making more users enjoy creating and sharing modeling works on the platform. During this period, the company will also gradually roll out physics engines, more refined AI-assisted modeling, asset communities, and digital asset trading modules based on user needs.
User creations in the Graph Origin modeling engine
Graph Origin has planned two paths for collecting user feedback to better optimize platform features and experience. First, the company has built a refined user behavior analytics platform that, while ensuring data privacy security, uses algorithms to automatically analyze and categorize user operations, painting user need profiles and capturing requirements product managers might have missed. Second, the company actively reaches out to users based on feedback, engaging in deep discussions to jointly plan product updates and designs, achieving co-creation with users. Currently, 30% of platform features originated from user suggestions, with the company handling development and launch.
According to reports, during closed beta, users' average single-session online time exceeded one hour, with 60% being non-professional content creators who built richly themed model works on the platform, including the Temple of Heaven, Beihai Park, Star Wars, The Three-Body Problem, Crayon Shin-chan, Ranking of Kings, and Red Alert game scenes.
"We hope to build a mass-market 3D content creation tool in the future, and a social world where ordinary people would want to live," Shi said.
Graph Origin currently has a team of several dozen, with over 80% in R&D, mainly comprising Tsinghua graduates, senior graphics researchers, and former engineers from Tencent, ByteDance, and Alibaba. The company's senior advisors/experts come from the Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR) at Tsinghua University and the Center on Frontiers of Computing Studies at Peking University. (Partial content adapted from 36Kr)
5Y Capital (formerly Morningside Venture Capital) currently manages approximately RMB 32 billion in dual-currency USD and RMB funds. 5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires lonely entrepreneurs, providing support from spiritual to all operational aspects. We believe that if the "crazy" you in others' eyes begins to be believed in, the world will become a different place.
BEIJING · SHANGHAI · SHENZHEN · HONG KONG
