November, a World of Infinite Possibilities | 5Y News Monthly
The big news from last month.
5Y News Monthly
"5Y News Monthly" is a regular column from 5Y Capital. At the start of each month, we look back at news from the past month involving 5Y and our portfolio companies, sharing it with friends who follow us — we hope it helps you get to know 5Y better.
01 Portfolio Company Highlights
Major news about funding, IPOs, strategic partnerships, breakthroughs, and new product launches from 5Y portfolio companies.
02 5Y Capital Updates
News about 5Y honors, investor interviews, and thought leadership.
Note: Companies are listed in alphabetical order by pinyin.
01
Portfolio Company Highlights
Horizon Robotics Successfully Lists on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
On October 24, Horizon Robotics (stock code: 9660.HK), an intelligent driving technology company, officially debuted on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 5Y Capital led Horizon's seed round in 2015 and subsequently participated in its Series A, B, and C rounds. From that initial seed investment to its position today as a leader in intelligent driving, we are honored to have witnessed and accompanied Horizon's growth every step of the way. Qin Liu, founding partner of 5Y Capital, said: "Over nine years, Kai Yu has consistently demonstrated the rare combination of visionary learning ability and execution that defines great founders. We believe Horizon's IPO is a new starting point — Kai Yu and the team will continue to leverage their vision, execution, and capacity for continuous evolution to drive breakthroughs in intelligent driving technology and fulfill their mission of 'empowering intelligent driving to make human life safer and better.' Our best wishes to Horizon." Read more
HotMaxx Expands into Japan
On October 11, Chinese discount retail giant HotMaxx announced via PR Times, Japan's leading PR distribution platform, its plan to open stores in major commercial districts including Osaka Namba in spring 2025. The company has already established a local entity, HotMaxx Japan Co., Ltd., in Osaka. Zekai Liu, president of HotMaxx's Japan subsidiary, stated that the company will start in western Japan and gradually expand nationwide. HotMaxx's first Japan store is slated to open in spring 2025 in a busy district of Osaka.
XtalPi Partners with Johnson & Johnson,
Accelerating AI-Driven Drug R&D
On October 10, XtalPi, a global leader in AI-powered pharmaceutical research, and Janssen Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson company, officially announced a major collaboration. Under the agreement, XtalPi will license its proprietary large-molecule drug discovery AI platform to Janssen Biotech to support innovation in drug discovery. Yi Li, VP of XtalPi and head of Ailux Biologics, said: "We are thrilled to share this technology, which has already been transformative within our own operations, with Janssen Biotech to help accelerate drug R&D." Read more
Mammotion's LUBA 2 AWD Wins TIME's "Best Inventions of 2024"
On October 31, Mammotion Tech's LUBA 2 AWD series of wire-free robotic lawn mowers was named to TIME magazine's "Best Inventions of 2024," joining the ranks of the world's most innovative tech products. The LUBA 2 AWD series stood out in the "Household" category, quickly becoming a global best-selling boundary-free robotic mower brand through its revolutionary mowing experience and leading smart technology. From zero to one, Mammotion has rapidly grown into an international company of six to seven hundred people — all thanks to the dedication and hard work of the entire Mammotion team. Read more
PingCAP and Yum China Joint Lab Releases Phase-One Results
In October, the "PingCAP and Yum China Distributed Database Joint Lab" achieved phase-one results, releasing a white paper titled Digital Revolution in the Restaurant Industry Under the New Economy: Best Practices and Applications of Distributed Databases along with four technology application outcomes. The joint lab has not only delivered technological innovation but also opened up an entirely new model for enterprise digital transformation. This vendor-enterprise collaboration model, combined with broad support from the open-source community, accelerates technology R&D and application, reduces costs and risks, drives the formation of industry technical standards, cultivates innovative talent, enhances enterprise competitiveness, and provides strong support for long-term sustainable development. Read more
SenseTime Signs Strategic Partnership with Henan Unicom
In October, the 2024 China Computing Power Conference was held in Zhengzhou under the theme "Gathering Intelligence for Innovation, Computing Leads the Future," bringing together stakeholders to discuss computing infrastructure and industry opportunities. At the main forum, Yang Fan, co-founder of SenseTime and president of the AI Infrastructure Group, shared three reflections on AI infrastructure in his keynote: infrastructureization is an inevitable trend for AI industry development; the three pillars of AI — computing power, algorithms, and data — will all become infrastructure; and telecom operators and AI companies are natural strategic partners. At the conference's computing application sub-forum, SenseTime signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Henan Unicom and joined multiple enterprises and institutions in launching a computing ecosystem alliance to advance AI infrastructure system construction. Read more
Xpeng Aeroht's "Land Aircraft Carrier" Completes First Crewed Flight
On October 21, Xpeng Aeroht completed the first crewed test flight of its "Land Aircraft Carrier" flying vehicle, with founder Deli Zhao kicking off the "Executive 5,000 km Test Flight" program. Xpeng Aeroht also plans to conduct a global public debut flight on November 12, 2024, the opening day of Airshow China, demonstrating the automatic separation and docking process between the "Land Aircraft Carrier" ground module and flying module. Read more
Pony.ai Establishes European R&D Center in Luxembourg,
Strategic Partnership with Emile Weber
On October 23, Pony.ai signed a memorandum of understanding with Emile Weber, a leading mobility company in Luxembourg, to collaborate on the R&D and deployment of autonomous vehicles and technology in Luxembourg. Jun Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai, said: "This partnership is an important part of Pony.ai's global strategy. Emile Weber is one of Luxembourg's most trusted and reliable mobility service providers, and we are honored to establish this strategic partnership. By working with top-tier industry partners, Pony.ai will bring world-class autonomous driving technology capabilities, engineering experience, and product systems to broader markets." Read more
Xpeng Motors' New European Chapter:
Three Models Launch in Spain and Portugal
On September 25 and 26, Xpeng Motors held consecutive launch events in Madrid and Lisbon, marking its official entry into the Spanish and Portuguese markets. At the events, Juanma López, VP of Xpeng's Design Center, emphasized the importance of an international design team, noting that Xpeng has assembled a strong design team with talent from 16 countries, dedicated to creating global products. He also highlighted the team's pursuit of balance between emotion and rationality in design, applying this philosophy to AI cars and flying vehicles. Read more
5Y Portfolio Companies Kingsoft Office and Xiaomi Named to Forbes China 2024 ESG 50 List
On September 26, Forbes China released its 2024 China ESG 50 list. To identify ESG pioneers in China and inspire more enterprises to embrace sustainable development, Forbes China published its second annual "China ESG 50" and "ESG Inspiration Cases," examining the current state and future trends of Chinese corporate ESG practice through both comprehensive performance and specific case studies. 5Y portfolio companies Kingsoft Office and Xiaomi were named to the list. Read more
02
5Y Capital Updates
The Art of Climbing: On Limits, Risk Management, and Freedom
| 5Y Tavern Vol. 21 [Podcast]
Climbing is often used as a metaphor for entrepreneurship or life itself — great climbers tend to be excellent risk managers, and on the route, you never quite know what will happen on the way up or down. In this episode of 5Y Tavern, we invited a cross-disciplinary guest, free climber Xinyue Cao, to share his story. We wanted to explore: what does it mean to climb peaks no human has ever touched? How do climbers balance pushing limits with making rational choices? Read more
5Y seeks out, supports, and inspires solitary entrepreneurs, providing support from the spiritual to the operational. We believe that if the world starts to believe in the "crazy" you that others see, things will become altogether different.
BEIJING · SHANGHAI · SHENZHEN · HONG KONG
