Heading Into the Next Spring Amid Winter: 7 Early-Stage Companies Raise Nearly 600 Million RMB | FreeS Family Funding News · Vol 13
Looking forward to working alongside more outstanding founders.
The "FreeS Family Funding News" column regularly publishes funding updates from FreeS Fund's portfolio companies. In addition to new investments, follow-on rounds for previously backed companies are also included. Together, we witness every step of innovative enterprises from 0 to 1, from 1 to 10, and from 10 to 100.
This Issue at a Glance:
- Biotech & Healthcare: FreeS seed-round project Anyeep (安益谱) completed a nearly RMB 100 million Series A, with FreeS continuing to invest; Geneception (迦进生物) raised tens of millions in angel funding, co-led by FreeS and Matrix Partners China; FreeS angel-round project Shize Biotech (士泽生物) secured over RMB 200 million in Series A1, with FreeS continuing to invest; FreeS angel-round project Chemical.AI (智化科技) raised nearly RMB 100 million in Series B.
- Hard & Soft Tech: FreeS Series A project Haiyan Tech (海研科技) raised tens of millions in Series A+, with FreeS continuing to invest; FreeS angel-round project Huayu New Materials (华渔新材料) raised tens of millions in Pre-A, with FreeS continuing to invest; FreeS angel-round project Jiuzhou Yunjian (九州云箭) completed a new RMB 100 million+ round.
(Funding information in this roundup is limited to publicly disclosed deals from October and November, sorted alphabetically by company name.)
Anyeep (Suzhou) Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("Anyeep") announced the completion of a nearly RMB 100 million Series A funding round, led by Green River Investment, with participation from Dunxing Capital and JunShan Capital's private equity fund of funds. Existing shareholders FreeS Fund and YuanSheng Ventures also continued to invest.
/ What the Investors Say /
Mass spectrometry is the most precise and sensitive scientific instrument, as well as a critical piece of high-end equipment subject to supply chain constraints, with a domestic substitution rate of less than 5%. FreeS is highly optimistic about Dr. Xiaohua Zhang's leadership of the Anyeep team, recognizing their focused investment in mass spectrometry technology and deep cultivation of a self-controllable industrial chain. Therefore, FreeS began investing in Anyeep from the seed round and has continued to increase its stake across multiple rounds. Several mass spectrometry products developed by Anyeep have gained favor across diverse industrial customers — including third-party testing labs, hospitals, and defense contractors — thanks to their extreme cost-performance ratio and high reliability. Congratulations to Anyeep on completing this round. We believe the company will soon deliver a complete clinical triple quadrupole mass spectrometry solution truly suited for hospital settings, and build more world-class mass spectrometers in China.
/ Company Details /
Founded in 2016, Anyeep was established by Dr. Xiaohua Zhang, a recipient of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class). Upholding the philosophy of "meticulous craftsmanship, building world-class Chinese mass spectrometers," the company focuses on mass spectrometry technology research and instrument development, with the goal of providing highly robust mass spectrometry equipment for multiple application scenarios. The company has gradually grown into a leading Chinese high-tech enterprise engaged in the development, production, sales, and service of chemical analysis and medical testing instruments. Its product portfolio covers medical testing-specific mass spectrometers, laboratory mass spectrometers, and portable mass spectrometers, featuring internationally competitive advanced technology and multiple core patents. (See full coverage on VBData: Anyeep Completes Nearly RMB 100 Million Series A to Accelerate Clinical Validation of UHPLC-MS/MS Systems)
Haiyan Automation Technology Co., Ltd. ("Haiyan Tech") announced the completion of a tens of millions RMB Series A+ round, led by JunShan Capital, with existing shareholder FreeS Fund continuing to invest.
/ What the Investors Say /
First, congratulations to Haiyan Tech on completing this funding round. The proceeds will help the company advance its AI vision platform solutions, expand its team and increase R&D investment, accelerate its business layout in the home appliance industry, and expand into automotive, furniture, lithium battery and photovoltaic, semiconductor, and other sectors.
In March 2021, FreeS completed its Series A investment in Haiyan Tech. Founded in 2015, Haiyan Tech is an industrial machine vision company that started with intelligent upgrades in the home appliance industry, providing customers with AI machine vision-based products and platform-level solutions. The founding team originated from the Vision and Intelligence R&D Department of the China Academy of Machinery Science and Technology, with over ten years of experience in industrial vision research and project implementation.
In the digital transformation of traditional manufacturing enterprises, machine vision has proven its clear advantages in accuracy, reliability, labor replacement, and efficiency across multiple vertical industries. It is a foundational platform technology for manufacturing's upgrade from automation to digitalization and intelligence. Starting from the demand for intelligent manufacturing upgrades in the home appliance industry, Haiyan Tech has undergone years of product iteration. Currently, on the path to productizing machine vision, the company has built a standardized integrated hardware-software product matrix and developed a self-built visual cloud platform solution for end customers.
We look forward to Haiyan Tech continuing to advance technology productization, gain deeper insights into industry needs, and contribute to China's manufacturing transformation and upgrading with machine vision products that are "reliable, practical, and cost-effective."
/ Company Details /
Haiyan Tech is primarily engaged in technology R&D and application in machine vision, image analysis, and artificial intelligence. Combining robotics, automation, and big data technologies, the company has developed a series of products and complete solutions for applications including large-surface appearance defect detection and error prevention, high-precision visual and laser 3D measurement, intelligent behavior recognition systems, intelligent placement positioning and assembly, 3D loading and unloading, laser marking inspection, automatic gluing and high-frequency welding, and automated logistics. Core team members come from renowned institutions including the China Academy of Machinery Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, and Tianjin University, with over 30% holding graduate degrees. The company has established AI and 3D vision laboratories in Beijing and Nanjing, as well as a home appliance visual inspection experimental center. (See coverage on 36Kr: "Haiyan Tech" Secures Tens of Millions in Series A+, Led by JunShan Capital)
▲ From Huayu New Materials founder Xuduo Yu: What is carbon fiber? Where can it be used in daily life? What specific contributions does it make to energy conservation and emission reduction? What pitfalls did Huayu encounter during its entrepreneurial journey? Feel free to like and share to your Moments~
Huayu New Materials raised tens of millions in Pre-A funding, co-invested by CASSTAR and FreeS Fund.
/ What the Investors Say /
With the continuous decline in carbon fiber precursor costs, strong policy impetus for dual-carbon emission reduction, and the emergence of various innovative industry applications, high-end applications of domestic carbon fiber are reaching an inflection point. Huayu has been deeply cultivating the high-end carbon fiber application field for over a decade, establishing deep industry and technological moats, and is well-positioned to seize opportunities from this industrial transformation. FreeS Fund was Huayu's angel-round investor and has continued to increase its stake in this round. Throughout our journey with the company, the founder's passion and dedication to the carbon fiber cause has been deeply impressive — highly aligned with FreeS's founding principle of "doing what is right, not what is easy."
/ Company Details /
Founded in May 2012, Huayu New Materials is a supplier of innovative new material technology products. As a material with exceptional performance, carbon fiber composites offer incomparable advantages over traditional steel shafts in strength, modulus, weight reduction, and electrical properties. Achieving large-scale manufacturing with controllable costs and excellent performance has long been a demand from automotive OEMs. Huayu aims to become a leading comprehensive solution provider for carbon fiber powertrain components. The company has built a product portfolio centered on automotive-grade carbon fiber drive shafts, carbon fiber motor and e-axle rotor spindles and sleeves, and carbon fiber composite pressure vessel cylinders. (See coverage on Touzijia: Carbon Fiber Composite Enterprise Huayu New Materials Completes Tens of Millions in Pre-A Funding, Co-invested by CASSTAR and FreeS Fund)
▲ Structure of small nucleic acid conjugate drugs. Image source: Geneception.
Geneception completed a tens of millions RMB angel funding round, co-led by Matrix Partners China and FreeS Fund.
/ What the Investors Say /
Novel drug modalities have always been a powerful force driving the development of the biopharmaceutical industry. In recent years, the successful application and rapid development of antibody-drug conjugates and small nucleic acid drugs in different disease areas have brought more possibilities and growth space to new conjugate drug modalities at their intersection. Geneception's founding team possesses extensive experience in pharmaceutical industry operations and biotech investment. We are optimistic about Geneception's market judgment, technical understanding, and R&D execution planning for novel high-efficiency conjugate drugs. We look forward to Geneception creating new possibilities for conquering rare diseases.
/ Company Details /
Geneception's team currently covers four core R&D functional areas, including nucleic acid chemistry, bioconjugation, pharmaceutical analysis, and cell biology. Beyond R&D, the team also encompasses talent in project management and business development. The company's founder/CEO Hao Wu graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy. He has worked at NGM, Novo Nordisk, WuXi Biologics, Deerfield, and 6 Dimensions Capital, with extensive experience in drug R&D and industrialization. To further enhance its original innovation capabilities, Geneception has built its own 1,000+ sqm R&D center to accelerate pharmacodynamic validation efficiency, and has established partnerships with universities and research institutes including Fudan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, as well as leading CRO companies. (See coverage on 36Kr: Geneception Raises Tens of Millions in Angel Funding, First Small Nucleic Acid-Antibody Conjugate Drug Nears PCC)
Jiuzhou Yunjian completed a new RMB 100 million+ funding round. Investors in this round include Rongdao Investment and Jiuzhi Capital, with Xintou Huaying making additional investment.
/ What the Investors Say /
Congratulations to Jiuzhou Yunjian on completing this new RMB 100 million+ funding round, and our thanks to the new investors and all investors who have trusted and continuously supported Jiuzhou Yunjian.
▍ Real-world mastery takes a decade of honing
Jiuzhou Yunjian is a company that develops and manufactures reusable liquid oxygen-methane rocket engines. Because of our investment in Jiuzhou Yunjian, we as an investment institution have increasingly deepened our identity as "aerospace people." With our founding principle of "doing what is right, not what is easy," we have developed methodologies around investment, company growth, and returns, witnessing Jiuzhou Yunjian's continuous progress and growth. We have genuinely experienced the team's solid technical foundation, tenacious work ethic, and service orientation.
Jiuzhou Yunjian's founders and team members are all veterans with over ten years of frontline experience in aerospace rocket design, R&D, and mass production. Particularly in the field of recoverable methane-liquid oxygen rocket engines, team members have years of R&D experience across multiple models.
▍ Quietly blooming, not competing for spring's attention
As a designer and manufacturer of liquid rocket engines — the most critical component of rockets — Jiuzhou Yunjian was not the most visible entrepreneurial team during the once "white-hot" private rocket startup wave, but they are certainly among the most solid and grounded teams.
You may have seen reports of Jiuzhou Yunjian completing stable long-duration ignition and testing of important rocket engine models. Behind these reports, the company has done extensive work in technical breakthroughs, material innovations, and technical adaptation with partners. Currently, Jiuzhou Yunjian has built its own engine test facility, enabling more convenient actual test firings to obtain massive experimental data and more efficiently complete technical iteration and upgrades.
The founders of Jiuzhou Yunjian, formerly of state-owned aerospace teams, are a group of people with "great love" who understand the importance of giving back. Jiuzhou Yunjian has maintained very pragmatic and productive cooperative relationships with local governments and its former employer, China's state-owned aerospace system, winning strong and reliable resources and market support for the company's development.
As investors, we greatly admire and are gratified by Jiuzhou Yunjian's development, and are full of expectations for its future. When the wind rises, the strongest wings are most needed. We wish Jiuzhou Yunjian increasingly great achievements in the time to come, making ever greater contributions to China's magnificent satellite and rocket endeavors.
/ Company Details /
Jiuzhou Yunjian is a commercial aerospace enterprise focused on the development and service of liquid oxygen-methane reusable rocket propulsion technology. The company has an experienced talent pool in cryogenic liquid rocket engine design, process engineering, production management, assembly, and testing. Its intelligent assembly and testing base is located in the national new industrialization demonstration base in Yuhui District, Bengbu City, Anhui Province, with complete high and low-pressure liquid and gas flow test conditions, engine full-system hot-fire test stands, and rocket sub-system propulsion system test stands. To date, the company has successfully served more than ten customers of various types. (See full coverage on Jiuzhou Yunjian: Being the Engine of Dreams | Jiuzhou Yunjian Completes New RMB 100 Million+ Funding Round)
Shize Biomedicine (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. ("Shize Biotech") officially announced the completion of an over RMB 200 million Series A1 funding round. This round was co-led by Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, Jinyuan Zhanhong, and Zhongxin Capital, with participation from Yuanhe Holdings, Peking University Technology Transfer Fund (Founder Heson), and JunShan Capital. FreeS Fund, HSG, and Jiacheng Capital also continued to invest.
▲ Click the video to explore: What possibilities lie within mysterious stem cells? What do the three springs of the stem cell field look like? Feel free to like and share to your Moments~
/ What the Investors Say /
In the current capital market environment, Shize Biotech's continued support from numerous funds and existing shareholders demonstrates that more and more investors recognize the clinical potential of iPSC stem cells. However, the barrier to bringing stem cell therapies to market is extremely high, and the market is filled with mixed players. Dr. Xiang Li and his team's execution capability and meticulous steadiness have won investors' recognition. This funding support will accelerate the push of Shize's pipeline drugs toward clinical trials, benefiting patients as soon as possible.
/ Company Details /
Shize Biotech founder Dr. Xiang Li has focused on iPS-derived cell therapeutics for over a decade, having worked at renowned iPS reprogramming and directed differentiation laboratories and international leading companies both domestically and abroad. Founded by Dr. Li upon his return to China in early 2021, Shize Biotech is a Chinese biopharmaceutical company focused on providing scalable, low-cost iPS-derived cell therapeutic solutions for a range of major or critical diseases lacking substantive clinical solutions, with Parkinson's disease as a representative example. "Using unparalleled stem cell innovative drugs to bless millions of suffering patient families" is Shize Biotech's long-term vision. (See full coverage on Shize Biotech: [Winter Plum Blossom Fragrance] Shize Biotech Raises Over RMB 200 Million in Series A1 to Accelerate R&D of iPS-Derived Cell Therapeutics Pipeline for Neurological Diseases)
Chemical.AI announced the completion of its Series B funding round, led by Changjiang Innovation, with participation from JunShan Private Equity, raising nearly RMB 100 million.
/ What the Investors Say /
China is a major player in chemical synthesis. With rising labor costs and the gradual decline of engineer dividends, automation of organic synthesis is an inevitable trend. Dr. Ning Xia and the Chemical.AI team, combining AI big data and robotics technology, have built an automated synthesis platform that is already demonstrating cost reduction and efficiency gains for clients. Their closed-loop model of AI data + robotics + CRO is helping drive China's industrial upgrading while bringing new transformation to the field of medicinal chemistry synthesis.
/ Company Details /
Chemical.AI is an R&D technology company that leverages AI to empower chemical synthesis. Using artificial intelligence technology and chemical big data, the company has developed tools that significantly improve the efficiency of chemical research, with the goal of building an intelligent compound planning platform to shape the future of chemistry. In 2021, Chemical.AI also established an automated laboratory (ChemAILab) in Shanghai, combining AI technology and big data-enabled chemical synthesis algorithms with robotics to break through existing bottlenecks in synthetic chemistry service efficiency, providing the industry with more professional and efficient chemical synthesis services. (See coverage on Chemical.AI: Chemical.AI Express | Chemical.AI Completes Nearly RMB 100 Million Series B, Will Continue Deep Cultivation in AI Drug Discovery and Automated R&D)
Chemical.AI Announces Strategic Cooperation Milestone with Keyin Biotech
On November 14, Chemical.AI announced a strategic cooperation milestone with Keyin Biotech, jointly committed to accelerating the efficiency improvement of small molecule drug R&D, transforming traditional new drug R&D models, and providing "staff and rod" for crossing the "valley of death."
Both Keyin Biotech and Chemical.AI are FreeS angel-round projects. The two companies are collaborating based on their respective strengths and resources. Chemical.AI's ChemAILab automated synthesis services, powered by AI and big data-enabled chemical synthesis algorithms combined with robotics, will help Keyin Biotech control drug R&D costs from the source, effectively accelerate drug R&D speed, shorten R&D cycles, and maximize cost reduction and efficiency gains. (See coverage on Chemical.AI: Chemical.AI Announces Strategic Cooperation Milestone with Keyin Biotech)
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