5Y News | Functional Athletic Base Layer Brand *Surpine* Closes Tens of Millions of RMB Angel Round

Functional base layer brand Surpine recently announced it has raised tens of millions of RMB in an angel round led exclusively by 5Y Capital. An Yu Consumer served as the long-term exclusive financial advisor. The funding will go toward product R&D, brand upgrading, business expansion, and team growth.

Yuan Ye, partner at 5Y Capital, said: "Getting close to nature through sports is becoming a lifestyle for more and more people, and with that comes increasingly specialized demand for apparel and gear. Surpine is entering the market through high-performance base layers, helping every sports enthusiast focus more fully on the joy that nature and movement bring. We believe sports will become a long-term lifestyle for the new generation of consumers. Surpine's product craftsmanship and R&D capabilities have the potential to offer consumers more professional and cost-effective choices, and to co-create with them a great brand with spiritual resonance and emotional connection through this sports lifestyle."

Founded in 2018, Surpine focuses on multi-category, multi-scenario, multi-functional professional sports base layer equipment. The brand started with skiing and has gradually expanded to outdoor mountaineering, fitness training, and other sports scenarios, specializing in seamless base layers that deliver a more professional experience for sports enthusiasts.

Surpine is a sports brand with exceptionally strong underlying R&D capabilities. Founder Zhao Bing has over a decade of experience in sportswear retail. After returning from studying in the US, he worked at Nike, Semir Group, and Nielsen. The core team graduated from Donghua University, a leading textile institution, and holds master's and doctoral degrees from institutions at home and abroad. Team members have previously worked at global high-performance fiber companies, top textile testing organizations, and world-class knitting equipment manufacturers. With full-chain R&D capabilities spanning textile technology to product commercialization, and deep know-how at every stage from fiber to yarn to fabric to product design, the team is able to develop and upgrade products starting from raw materials — rather than focusing solely on cutting, design, and marketing.

Founder Zhao Bing said: "We chose skiing as our primary sports scenario and base layers as our flagship product to validate our team's underlying R&D capabilities."

First, skiing involves extreme temperature variations. Skiers must endure minus 20°C conditions on the slopes while maintaining a body temperature around 30°C, all while staying safe and moving freely. Typically, skiers use a three-layer system: an outer shell for wind and water protection, a mid-layer for warmth retention, and a base layer for moisture-wicking and thermal insulation. As the layer in direct contact with the body, the base layer requires exceptional moisture-wicking and thermal performance to maintain dryness and comfort, preventing the clammy, cold sensation caused by sweating in low temperatures.

Second, different parts of the body have distinct functional needs during skiing. The chest requires heavy perspiration management, the elbows need stretch for mobility, and the underarms need breathability and antibacterial properties. Because the base layer sits directly against the skin, users need solutions with composite functionality — moisture-wicking, thermal insulation, compression, antibacterial properties, and anatomical fit.

Surpine digs into users' detailed base layer needs across different sports scenarios, providing head-to-toe composite functional base layer equipment tailored to different body parts. As a pioneer in seamless knit technology, the brand starts from a single yarn to achieve multi-structural woven forms that deliver composite functional benefits while reducing skin irritation from seams. Through six proprietary functional technologies, Surpine offers professional-grade products:

• SurPre 3D Compression Technology: Provides appropriate tension and support to muscles during exercise, enhancing athletic performance
• SurWic One-Way Moisture Wicking: Rapidly channels sweat away from the body through capillary channels, keeping skin dry during exercise
• SurVap Quick-Dry Technology: Evaporates sweat rapidly through specialized fiber structures, improving the exercise experience
• SurWarm Thermal Retention: Stores body heat during exercise, preventing heat loss and defending against extreme cold
• SurBio Antibacterial Freshness: Highly effective antibacterial technology that inhibits bacterial growth, keeping gear fresh and odor-free
• SurFit 3D Anatomical Fit: Ergonomic design with three-dimensional stretch for comfortable, unrestricted movement

Base layer R&D is exceptionally challenging because it sits against the skin and its performance is immediately felt. Zhao Bing noted, "Users can tell right away how well it works when they put it on — that's the validation of our technical strength."

During the 2021-22 snow season, riding the wave of national enthusiasm for winter sports catalyzed by the Beijing Winter Olympics, the brand broke through with its high-performance, visually striking ski base layers, winning unanimous praise from professional athletes to first-time skiers. Snow sports enthusiasts dubbed it "the pride of Chinese-made base layers" and "the most beautiful base layer out there," driving rapid growth in brand awareness and sales.

In terms of channel strategy, Surpine partnered with offline specialty ski shops from its earliest days. To date, its products are available in over 60 professional ski and outdoor shops across nearly 20 regions nationwide, covering first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou as well as major indoor and outdoor ski resorts — with full coverage of large destination ski resorts.

Surpine has already expanded beyond its skiing origins through solid product performance, earning recommendations from users in outdoor sports, cycling, fitness, and running. The company is gradually meeting year-round outdoor sports, urban sports, and fitness training needs across all scenarios.

From the start, Surpine has made product R&D its central focus, with the founding team devoting 80% of its energy to product development. Zhao Bing said Surpine will continue strengthening its technical capabilities, paying close attention to every skin-close experience during sports, and providing users with professional, trustworthy base layer equipment.

The brand advocates a spirit of limitless living and freely pursuing one's passions. Going forward, it will serve a broader community of sports enthusiasts and cross-scenario users, connecting with every sports lover in the most intimate way possible — through products worn close to the skin — to discover the exhilarating freedom that sports bring to both body and mind, fully enjoying the pleasures of movement and fearlessly taking on unknown challenges.

5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires entrepreneurs who dare to stand alone, providing support that ranges from the spiritual to the operational. We believe that if the "crazy" person others see in you starts to be believed in, the world will become a different place.

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