Haojun Jia

Haojun Jia is co-founder and CEO of Deep Principle (深度原理), a Hangzhou-based AI-for-science startup applying artificial intelligence, quantum chemistry, and high-throughput experimentation to accelerate chemical and materials R&D . He holds a PhD in physical chemistry from MIT and previously worked in core R&D at Dow Chemical, where he focused on using AI to develop catalyst formulations and predict chemical reaction pathways . In early 2024, Jia returned to China with fellow MIT PhD Chenru Duan to establish Deep Principle, with Jia as CEO and Duan as CTO . The company has since moved through multiple funding rounds, including seed led by Linear Capital, a seed+ round from Hillhouse, a nine-figure RMB Pre-A round, and a Series A2 round as of March 2026 . Jia has described AI4S as having civilization-level significance beyond more visible AI applications like large language models, telling *China Entrepreneur* in early 2026 that "the most important chapters of human history are often named after materials" . Deep Principle was also the only AI4S company invited to the 2025 Summer Davos Forum .