May, Where Hope Springs Eternal | 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 us better.
01 Portfolio Company Highlights
Major news about funding rounds, 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
Axbio and Juyun Gene Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement
In April, Axbio and Yunnan Juyun Gene Engineering Co., Ltd. — a subsidiary of Yunnan Qiansheng Testing Technology Group — held a symposium on the development and application of fourth-generation gene sequencing technology in Kunming, where they signed a strategic partnership agreement to jointly establish a fourth-generation gene sequencing laboratory. Both parties will leverage their respective strengths in technology and industry to further advance high-quality development in the gene sequencing sector. Under the framework of the partnership, their first collaborative project — the Juyun Gene & Axbio Fourth-Generation Gene Sequencing Joint Laboratory — was officially launched. Read more
Cenano Bio's Flow Cytometry Mass Spectrometer Receives Medical Device Approval
On March 28, Cenano Bio's Polaris Starion M1.0 flow cytometry mass spectrometer officially received medical device registration approval from the Jiangsu Provincial Medical Products Administration (Registration No.: Su Xie Zhu Zhun 20232220387), becoming the world's first flow cytometry mass spectrometer approved for in vitro diagnostic use — a major milestone in bringing flow cytometry mass spectrometry technology into clinical practice. Read more
Horizon Robotics and Keboda Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement
In April, Horizon Robotics and autonomous driving solutions provider Keboda signed a strategic partnership agreement. The two companies will actively collaborate on product development and technology exploration to jointly advance the commercialization of cutting-edge intelligent driving technologies. Leveraging Horizon Robotics' high-performance Journey series chips, Keboda will bring to bear its strengths in intelligent driving domain controllers, manufacturing, and software algorithms to develop domain controllers and leading intelligent driving solutions for different levels and scenarios. Through its robust supply chain system and advanced digital manufacturing facilities, Keboda will accelerate the mass production and market adoption of intelligent driving applications, advancing the development and implementation of the smart vehicle industry. Read more
PhiGent Robotics Unveils Binocular Intelligent Driving Solution
In April, the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show officially opened. PhiGent Robotics, a next-generation autonomous driving systems provider centered on visual 3D understanding, made its auto show debut with an upgraded intelligent driving product lineup, unveiling its AI-based binocular stereo vision intelligent driving solution. With the differentiated advantages of its binocular stereo vision system, PhiGent Robotics' full suite of intelligent driving solutions requires no high-precision maps or LiDAR, offering high performance and cost-effectiveness. The solutions can meet the diverse needs of OEMs in the next phase of vehicle intelligence with more reasonable compute power and lower-cost sensor configurations. Read more
XtalPi and IDEA Research Institute Achieve Important Progress in Collaboration
In April, XtalPi and the International Digital Economy Academy (IDEA) jointly announced significant progress in their collaborative project. The two organizations co-developed idealFold (IDEa-xtALpi-Fold), an AI-based high-throughput, high-precision antibody structure prediction model. The model combines advanced AI algorithms with expertise in large-molecule drug R&D and applies them to antibody structure prediction. Validation has shown that idealFold achieves industry-leading levels in both prediction speed and accuracy, which can substantially improve the efficiency of antibody drug development. Read more
Moore Threads and Wuhan Cloud Reach Strategic Partnership
In April, Moore Threads and Wuhan Cloud Computing Technology Co., Ltd. signed a strategic partnership framework agreement. The two parties will leverage their respective strengths to conduct in-depth collaboration in digital office, cloud desktop, AI digital humans, digital twins, big data, and other areas, jointly building new smart city infrastructure and promoting high-quality digital development in Wuhan. They will provide technical support for digital transformation and intelligent upgrading across all industries in the city. Looking ahead, both sides will also strengthen the development of urban digital infrastructure and explore more typical application scenarios for smart city construction. Read more
Muye Micro Completes 100 Million RMB Pre-A Round
In April, Muye Micro, an automotive-grade mmWave radar chip company, completed a 100 million RMB Pre-A funding round co-led by 5Y Capital, Kaiwind Ventures, Redpoint China Ventures, and Yiling Capital. The proceeds will be used for continued investment in productization and mass production delivery to alpha customers. Going forward, Muye Micro is committed to continuously improving the cost-effectiveness and differentiation of customers' end products, empowering terminal applications across the industry with "chip" vitality, and creating a smarter and better future. Read more
StartDT Completes Nearly 100 Million RMB C2 Round
In April, StartDT Group announced that it had completed a nearly 100 million RMB C2 funding round in late 2022, led by Yuhang State-owned Investment with follow-on from Zhongyin Bohai Fund. To date, StartDT has raised nearly 300 million RMB in Series C funding. The C round was led by Taikang Life Insurance and Yuhang State-owned Investment, with follow-on from ByteDance, DT Capital Partners, Xijun Capital, and Zhongyin Bohai Fund. This round of funding will be used for R&D of independently controllable data technologies, continued product and service upgrades, accelerated "enterprise-grade" capability building, and ongoing optimization of revenue structure to achieve high-quality growth. Read more
BestSign Launches Next-Generation Generative AI E-Signing Product
In April, BestSign launched Hubble, an intelligent e-signing product, in an online event, becoming the first company in the e-signing industry to release a next-generation generative AI product. Wan Min, CEO of BestSign E-Signing, stated that the interconnected and trusted signing network that BestSign E-Signing has built continues to connect thousands of enterprises across industries, weaving a comprehensive industrial signing collaboration network of interconnection and mutual trust. As of Q1 this year, the company already serves more than 200 Fortune 500 enterprises as paying clients. The application of SaaS+AI will expand the boundaries of SaaS services, strengthen SaaS capabilities, and give the interconnected and trusted signing network the wings of artificial intelligence. Read more
SenseTime Launches "SenseNova" Large Model System
In April, Li Xu, Chairman and CEO of SenseTime, shared the company's strategic vision of advancing AGI (artificial general intelligence) through "large models + massive compute" at a tech exchange day in Shanghai, and unveiled SenseTime's "SenseNova" large model system under this strategy. The system includes large models and capabilities for natural language processing, content generation, automated data annotation, and custom model training. Read more
Pony.ai's New Robotaxi Model Hits the Road in Beijing
In April, Pony.ai's next-generation Robotaxi model, equipped with the company's sixth-generation autonomous driving hardware system, began public road testing in Beijing's Yizhuang High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone. The vehicles are based on the Toyota Sienna Autono-Maas (S-AM) model and have already accumulated over 50,000 kilometers of road testing, fully passing the standard test verification activities under the "Intelligent Connected Vehicle Unmanned Urban Road Scene Test Field Test Methods and Requirements." The service is expected to cover a 60 square kilometer core area of Yizhuang during peak morning hours, providing residents of the demonstration zone with fully unmanned Robotaxi autonomous mobility services. Read more
Siemens and Xpeng Motors Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement
In April, Siemens and Xpeng Motors signed a strategic partnership agreement aimed at jointly building a flexible intelligent production system and advancing the digitalization and intelligentization of the new energy vehicle industry. Under the agreement, Siemens will leverage its digital twin technology and industrial software capabilities to support Xpeng Motors in the planning, construction, and continuous optimization and upgrading of its digital factory, forming a highly flexible intelligent production system. This will help shorten product development cycles and improve quality. Read more
Li Qiang Visits Unicorn Companies Including Galaxy Space in Beijing
In April, Li Qiang visited Galaxy Space (Beijing) Network Technology Co., Ltd. during a research trip in Beijing. During the visit, Li Qiang received an overview of Galaxy Space's operations, examined the company's latest products in development and models of launched satellites, and asked questions about product performance, materials, and manufacturing processes. He noted that the satellite network industry is still in a phase of vigorous growth, and that supporting relevant companies in strengthening R&D of key technologies and core components, continuously reducing manufacturing costs, expanding application and promotion, further extending the industrial chain, and promoting coordinated industrial development should be done with international advanced levels as the target. Read more
5Y Capital Updates
Qin Liu and Fei Zhang Named to Forbes 2023 Midas List
On May 4, Forbes magazine released the 2023 Midas List. Compiled in partnership with TrueBridge Capital Partners, the list has long tracked the ups and downs of venture capital and is the authoritative ranking of the world's top 100 tech investors. Qin Liu, Founding Partner of 5Y Capital (No. 4), and Partner Fei Zhang (No. 35) were named to the list. Read more
Peter Named to 2023 40 Under 40 Outstanding Young Investors List
On May 4, the China FOF Research Center released the 2023 "40 Under 40 Outstanding Young Investors" list. The China FOF Research Center noted that as the digital era arrives, many outstanding young Chinese investors have leveraged their comprehensive professional expertise and sharp judgment to identify truly valuable investment targets in highly specialized sectors such as deep tech and hard tech. Peter, Managing Director of 5Y Capital, was named to the 2023 "40 Under 40 Most Promising Direct Investment Fund Young Investors" list. Read more
Sports, Limits, and Possibilities Beyond Boundaries | 5Y Tavern Vol. 11
In this edition of 5Y Tavern, TJ Tang, founder of Tapdata, explorer Zhang Liang, and Liu Kai, Partner at 5Y Capital, discussed their experiences with extreme sports, mountaineering, and sailing.
Over the past year, we have done so much inward exploration. Now, the vast world is once again calling to our imagination. Limits mean pushing boundaries, and beyond boundaries lies endless unknown — sometimes frightening, more often fascinating. We hope to convey some possibilities and inspiration, because the exploration of limits is something you can only complete yourself. Read more
5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires lone entrepreneurs, providing them with support from the spiritual to the operational. We believe that if the you whom others see as crazy starts to be believed in, the world will become a different place.
BEIJING · SHANGHAI · SHENZHEN · HONG KONG
