BlueRun Ventures Leads Exclusive Seed Round, eVTOL Startup ZeroG Aircraft Industry Raises Nearly Ten Million Yuan | BlueRun Ventures

Recently, eVTOL company ZeroG Aircraft Industry announced the completion of a seed round of nearly 10 million RMB, exclusively invested by BlueRun Ventures.

Terry Zhu, Managing Partner of BlueRun Ventures, stated: "We clearly see that urban aerial mobility is beginning to flourish and has reached a tipping point for full-scale deployment. Today's eVTOL still carries considerable complexity and technical barriers. The ZeroG team possesses both full-stack technical capabilities and the engineering expertise required for product development. We are very optimistic about the ZeroG team and believe they can advance eVTOL toward larger-scale applications through their products."

ZeroG was founded in March 2021 and focuses on the R&D and manufacturing of eVTOL aircraft. With a vision to build Earth's third transportation ecosystem, the company is currently the only known Chinese startup simultaneously developing multi-rotor, compound-wing, and tilt-rotor configurations.

ZeroG's technical team is led by Academician Xiang Jinwu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of Beihang University's School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering. Core members hail from prominent enterprises, universities, and research institutes including the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, COMAC, Beihang University, and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The team averages over ten years of experience in eVTOL aircraft development, unmanned systems, tilt-rotor control algorithms, airworthiness certification, manufacturing, and flight test delivery. Team members have participated in multiple national key helicopter programs and received numerous national science and technology innovation awards and invention awards.

ZeroG has unveiled its first-generation tourism-focused eVTOL aircraft — the ZG-ONE, the company's first high-value, low-cost intelligent electric manned aircraft developed from a clean-sheet design. The aircraft's design philosophy centers on exploration, sustainability, and the future, drawing inspiration from space capsules to spark people's desire for discovery. The ZG-ONE intelligent electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft features a six-axis, six-propeller configuration with a maximum takeoff weight of 650 kg and capacity for two passengers. It comes standard with triple-redundant flight control systems and a whole-aircraft ballistic parachute to ensure safe and comfortable passenger experiences. The model is planned for small-batch production and delivery in the second half of this year. Beyond low-altitude tourism, it can also serve logistics transport, emergency rescue, geological survey, and other applications.

ZeroG has officially established operations in Hefei High-Tech Zone and plans to set up the first production line for the ZG-ONE in July this year, with expected scale production capacity. The company has reportedly secured several preliminary intent orders.

Additionally, the company will successively launch its second-generation compound-wing model ZG-VC2 and a third-generation tilt-rotor model ZG-T6 with capacity for six passengers. Tilt-rotor aircraft are currently recognized globally as the most technically challenging eVTOL configuration, but also the one with optimal comprehensive flight performance.

ZeroG's founding team stated: "We are committed to using eVTOL aircraft as our vehicle, starting from deep cultivation in urban air mobility, and continuously driving the 'green revolution' in aviation toward greater intelligence, higher speed, land-air integration, lower costs, and enhanced safety. We aim to contribute to the 'green revolution' in China's and the global aviation industry, bringing electric aircraft into everyday life, and supporting China's early establishment of an integrated comprehensive transportation system."

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BlueRun Ventures was established in Silicon Valley in 1998. BlueRun Ventures China was founded in 2005 and is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage startups.

Currently, BlueRun Ventures manages multiple USD and RMB dual-currency funds in China, with assets under management exceeding 10 billion RMB. The firm invests primarily at Pre-A and Series A stages, covering hard tech and innovative interaction, enterprise technology, new consumer, and healthcare sectors. It has cumulatively invested in over 150 startups, including Li Auto, Waterdrop, QingCloud, Guazi.com, Qudian, Songguo Mobility, Ganji.com, Energy Monster, Yuntion Semiconductor, Machenike, CloudSaints Intelligence, Anxin Network Shield, and BioMap.

BlueRun Ventures has been ranked first in Zero2IPO's "China Top 30 Early-Stage Investment Institutions" and ChinaVenture's "China Best Early-Stage Venture Capital Institutions TOP30," and was named among Preqin's Top 10 Global VC Fund Managers for Sustained High Returns.

The firm has also received consecutive recognition from Forbes China, 36Kr, Cyzone, Caixin Media, CBNweekly, Jiemian, and other media organizations as "China's Best Early-Stage Institution of the Year," "China's Top Venture Capital Firm," "Most Entrepreneur-Friendly Early-Stage Institution of the Year," and "Most Influential Early-Stage Institution of the Year."