Elsewhere News | Neolix, LiblibAI, and others close landmark funding rounds, setting new industry records

Autonomous driving, AI, and embodied intelligence are surging forward. Beyond headline-making funding rounds that break industry records, innovative technologies are being delivered and deployed across diverse scenarios — ultimately making our everyday lives better and more full of possibility. This month's Rongbao (Gaorong newsletter) continues to round up the "moments of achievement" worth noting from Gaorong Ventures' portfolio companies.

Neolix Closes Over $600 Million Series D

A Record for China's Autonomous Driving Sector

Neolix, the world's largest provider of L4 autonomous urban delivery (RoboVan) solutions, recently announced the completion of a Series D round exceeding $600 million. The round was led by UAE-based Stone Venture, with multiple institutions co-leading. Gaorong Ventures participated as a key investor.

By amount, this is the largest private financing round in China's autonomous driving sector to date, and among the largest private-market deals in China this year.

Since its founding in 2018, Neolix has consistently led the RoboVan industry and recently hit multiple milestones: cumulative L4 autonomous vehicle deliveries surpassed 10,000 units, making it the world's first L4 fleet to break that barrier; monthly deliveries exceeded 2,000 units, a global first for any autonomous driving company; deployment in Qingdao reached over 1,200 vehicles, helping the city become the world's leader in unmanned vehicle density; both the X3 and X6 models have each accumulated over 4,000 units delivered, making Neolix the only company in the industry to achieve mass delivery of multiple blockbuster SKUs; the number of cities with deployed vehicles exceeded 300, the most of any autonomous driving company globally; and cumulative L4 autonomous driving mileage has surpassed 50 million kilometers, maintaining industry leadership.

Neolix also disclosed key progress in its autonomous driving technology. Its self-developed L4 mapless autonomous driving solution has begun commercial delivery and is in limited deployment, making Neolix the first company in the unmanned delivery industry to deliver a mapless technical solution.

LiblibAI Closes $130 Million Series B

Pioneering the Multimodal Creation Platform for the AI Era

On October 23, AI application company LiblibAI announced the completion of a $130 million Series B round, jointly led by HSG, CMC Capital, and a strategic investor, with multiple existing shareholders increasing their stakes beyond their pro-rata rights. This is the largest financing round in China's AI application track this year to date. Gaorong Ventures had previously co-led LiblibAI's angel round in 2023.

Founded at the end of 2023, LiblibAI has grown through the explosion of open-source visual creation to become China's largest multimodal model and creator community. The platform integrates multimodal capabilities spanning image, video, 3D, and LoRA training, covering the complete AI workflow from inspiration generation and visual design to dynamic video production. It has incubated over 20 million AI creators across professional visual scenarios including illustration, photography, e-commerce, posters, and IP.

In October 2025, LiblibAI released version 2.0, upgrading from an "aggregation tool" to an "AI professional creation studio." It strengthened video generation capabilities, supporting multi-model generation and professional-grade effects templates, achieving an end-to-end experience from inspiration to finished film — opening new standards for AI video production. Read more

Marketing Agent "MAI" Raises $25 Million

Pushing AI to Become the New Operating System for Business Decisions

Global AI platform MAI recently announced the official launch of its flagship product, the "Marketing AI Agent," and the completion of a $25 million seed round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Gaorong Ventures, UpHonest Capital, and other institutions.

MAI was founded by AI/ML experts who previously built Google's advertising systems and led Instacart's growth marketing engineering team. The company's AI Agent autonomously manages and optimizes performance marketing, enabling small and medium businesses to deploy advertising technology as advanced as that used by large enterprises. The AI Agent deeply integrates with all dimensions of enterprise data, automatically adjusting spend, discovering opportunities, and optimizing in real time when performance fluctuates — 24/7.

Since launching early customer testing at the end of 2024, MAI has rapidly gained traction among DTC brands and consumer applications, with customer numbers doubling within months. The MAI Agent has already helped some clients increase sales by over 40%, and currently manages millions of dollars in monthly Google ad spend. Read more

Shixu Technology Closes Tens of Millions of RMB Pre-B Round

Industrial AI Generative Design Software Moves Toward "Delivering Results"

On October 15, industrial AI generative design software and solution provider Shixu Technology announced the completion of a Pre-B round of tens of millions of RMB, with investment from Yonghua Investment and GF Xinde Investment Management. Gaorong Ventures had previously invested in Shixu Technology's angel round and added to its position in subsequent rounds.

Founded in 2020, Shixu Technology's product "Shanshe" is an industrial intelligent generative design software. Based on a self-developed industrial world model and natural language large model-encapsulated intelligent agents working in collaboration, it provides cloud-based intelligent generation of 3D design solutions and 2D engineering drawings.

Shixu Technology has long been deeply rooted in industrial scenarios. Its "Shanshe" product has been applied in automotive, 3C, energy, and other sectors, with major clients including BYD, Honda, Shanghai Electric, and COMAC. Based on the Shanshe platform, it is expected to help clients improve design efficiency by several-fold to more than ten-fold, with significantly improved solution consistency and quality. With breakthroughs in AI technology, Shixu is working to evolve from "providing tools" to "delivering results" — achieving an AI-driven RAAS (Result As a Service) model.

Seyond Receives Filing Approval for Hong Kong IPO

"Dual-Technology Parallel" Strategy Targets Automotive and Robotics Scenarios

On October 14, Seyond formally received filing approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for a Hong Kong listing, marking a critical step in its capital markets journey.

Seyond specializes in the design, development, and production of automotive-grade lidar, providing high-performance lidar solutions for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems (ADS), and other automotive and non-automotive applications. In 2024, Seyond delivered approximately 230,000 automotive-grade lidar units; from 2022 to 2024, its cumulative ADAS lidar sales revenue ranked second globally.

Seyond pursues a "dual-technology parallel" strategy: the high-performance Falcon series (1550nm) and the platformized Oriole series (905nm/940nm). It was the first to achieve scaled mass production of both technology routes, meeting the extreme performance demands of premium vehicles while also enabling scaled applications for 100,000-RMB-class models.

To date, Seyond has built a three-dimensional development pattern of "diverse products + diverse customers + diverse scenarios." In the passenger vehicle sector, its deep partnership with NIO continues to strengthen, with the 1550nm Falcon series accumulating over 600,000 units delivered across nine models. It has also recently added designated orders from three state-owned automakers and one mainstream joint-venture brand. Beyond passenger vehicles, Seyond is accelerating penetration into commercial vehicles, robotics, smart transportation, industrial automation, and other growth markets.

Geekplus Unveils Industry's First

End-to-End Unmanned Picking Robot Solution

On October 28, global intelligent robotics leader Geekplus (02590.HK) globally launched its self-developed embodied intelligence innovation — the unmanned picking workstation and the industry's first end-to-end unmanned picking robot solution — leading the industry into a new era of fully unmanned warehouses.

Powered by Geekplus's embodied intelligence foundation model Geek+ Brain, the unmanned picking workstation overcomes the technical challenges of precise picking and efficient adaptation when robotic arms face ultra-large-scale product SKUs, enabling true unmanned picking across multiple categories, scenarios, and industries. The workstation supports 24/7 uninterrupted operation, combined with an excellent 1-2 year ROI, promising to deliver significant commercial value for clients.

The unmanned picking workstation supports both discrete picking (focusing on instant response) and batch picking (focusing on optimal efficiency) modes, fully adapting to complex business scenarios across e-commerce, retail, pharmaceuticals, 3PL, and other industries. With the addition of the unmanned picking workstation, Geekplus has completed the final piece of the puzzle for end-to-end truly unmanned picking. The workstation seamlessly collaborates with Geekplus's full range of autonomous mobile robots, easily integrating into existing logistics workflows.

Vertilite VCSEL Chip Shipments Surpass 600 Million

A New Milestone in Optoelectronics

On October 16, Vertilite, a leading company focused on optoelectronic chip design and manufacturing, announced that its self-developed VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) chips have cumulatively shipped over 600 million units.

Since its founding, Vertilite has been deeply engaged in high-performance, high-reliability VCSEL chip design and manufacturing technology. Its products are widely used in consumer electronics, automotive electronics, and optical communications, gradually becoming the domestic market share leader in VCSELs. Facing new market demands, the Vertilite team continues to invest in the development of forward-looking technologies including high-power solid-state lidar and 100G/200G high-speed VCSELs.

In September, Vertilite announced that its FabX facility, with total investment of 550 million RMB, was successfully completed and officially put into production at Wujin National High-Tech Zone. At full capacity, it will enable scaled production of gallium arsenide and indium phosphide chips, strengthening the company's manufacturing capabilities in compound semiconductors.

Jingneng Microelectronics Xiuzhou Base Enters Production

First SiC Power Module Successfully Rolls Off Line

Recently, the Jingneng Xiuzhou Base (Phase I) completed main construction ahead of schedule and officially entered production, with the first SiC power module simultaneously rolling off the line successfully.

Founded in June 2022, Jingneng Microelectronics is the power and AI semiconductor industry platform of Geely Technology Group. The company has built an industry-leading R&D and manufacturing system, scaling to serve core industry chains including electric vehicles, sustainable energy, and AI infrastructure.

Located in Jiaxing National High-Tech Zone and covering 95.4 mu, the Jingneng Xiuzhou Base is Jingneng's third specialized production base following Yuhang and Wenling. Phase I production lines are planned for annual capacity of 600,000 automotive-grade power modules. The base officially broke ground on February 5, 2024, and from groundbreaking to first product roll-off, the construction cycle was significantly shorter than industry averages.

Jingneng has already secured program designations from multiple industry customers and continues large-scale deliveries, with market share gradually growing. The Xiuzhou Base will continue capacity ramp-up, committed to becoming a core manufacturing and R&D platform for high-performance automotive-grade power modules.

Flowith, Genspark, Youware and Others

Programming and Agent Applications Integrate Moonshot AI K2 Model

At the end of October, agent application Flowith integrated the Moonshot AI K2 model API through the Moonshot AI open platform, providing underlying model capabilities for users' agent task execution.

Earlier, well-known programming and agent applications including Cline, CoStrict, Cursor, Genspark, Kilo Code, Kortix Suna, RooCode, Trae, Vercel, Visual Studio Code, Windsurf, and YouWare had all integrated the Moonshot AI K2 model.

Moonshot AI K2 is an MoE-architecture foundation model with stronger coding capabilities and greater proficiency in general agent tasks, with 1 trillion total parameters and 32 billion active parameters. Moonshot AI K2 was initially released in July 2025; the latest version 0905 further enhanced the Agentic Coding front-end programming experience, increasing context length from 128K to 256K.

BioGeometry Releases GeoFlow V3 Protein Foundation Model

Hit Rate Improved 100-Fold

On October 16, BioGeometry, a generative AI-driven biotechnology company, officially released the next-generation full-scenario atomic-level protein foundation model GeoFlow V3. For the first time, it introduces multi-step reasoning into protein design, giving the model "self-evaluation and autonomous evolution" capabilities — achieving milestone progress in de novo antibody design.

Based on GeoFlow V3, in de novo design tasks targeting multiple targets with specified epitopes, only dozens of sequences need to be tested to find nM-level binder molecules, with average wet-lab validation hit rate reaching 15.5% and lead molecule discovery time shortened to within three weeks. This success rate represents an approximately 100-fold improvement over previous-generation AI methods, providing a new industrial-grade solution for innovative drug R&D.

GeoFlow V3 introduces multi-step reasoning capability for the first time, enabling the model to use its own confidence scores as guidance to mimic natural antibody affinity maturation processes, performing multi-round fine-tuning and redesign of initially generated antibody sequences and structures, continuously "evolving" molecules with higher binding potential. The launch of GeoFlow V3 not only elevates the intelligence level of protein design but also injects new possibilities into the entire biological R&D system.

Free trial of GeoFlow V3: https://prot.design

China's First! Pulnovo Medical's Heart Failure and

Pulmonary Hypertension Dual FDA IDE Studies Approved

Recently, Pulnovo Medical's PADN (Percutaneous Pulmonary Artery Denervation) formally embarked on U.S. clinical studies. Its FDA HDE (Humanitarian Device Exemption) clinical trial for Type 1 pulmonary hypertension and IDE clinical trial for Type 2 pulmonary hypertension were approved simultaneously, positioning it to potentially become a globally original device company to achieve U.S. market entry.

IDE (Investigational Device Exemption) is the FDA's formal pathway authorizing human clinical trials, serving as the compliance prerequisite and evidence-based starting point for advancing toward U.S. market approval. The simultaneous approval of these two IDE studies not only brings PADN closer to becoming a globally original therapy available in the U.S., but also marks Pulnovo Medical's formal entry into the world's highest-threshold medical regulatory system.

At the same time, Pulnovo Medical also received approval from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for full U.S. Medicare coverage during the clinical stage and after product launch.

Qitan Technology Releases High-Throughput

Nanopore Gene Sequencer QPinnacle2

Recently, Qitan Technology formally launched the high-throughput nanopore gene sequencer QPinnacle2, marking Qitan Technology as one of the few domestic nanopore gene sequencing companies to achieve full-matrix product layout across low, medium, and high throughput, with domestic gene sequencers advancing into the international frontier in throughput, accuracy, and stability.

The QPinnacle2 high-throughput sequencer carries 2 independently operating chips, with single-chip data output of 400Gb and total machine throughput of 800Gb, better supporting big-data applications including human genome research, population cohort screening, and animal and plant breeding. Its O2 biochemical system is the first to improve domestic nanopore sequencing accuracy to 99%, greatly enhancing data reliability.

To date, Qitan's Nome sequencing platform has cumulatively served over 300 users, and the QPursue sequencing platform has served over 200 users, covering scientific research, healthcare, public health, agriculture, and other fields, supporting applications including pathogen detection, genetic disease screening, environmental monitoring, and forensic science.

Flexiv × Mercedes-Benz: Intelligent Robot Charging Station

One-Tap Smart Charging for Vehicles

Nothing's Fifth Anniversary: Li Xiang in Conversation with Carl Pei

AI Is the Biggest Variable in the Future

Style3D Founder Kevin Liu in Conversation with Kevin Kelly

China's Fashion Industry Steps Onto the World Stage

On October 21, Zero2IPO Research released its 2025 Q1-Q3 China VC/PE IPO performance report, with data showing "the number of IPOs captured by VC/PE institutions and their book-held equity value both showing growth trends." By number of listings, Gaorong Ventures ranked in the top 10 (including ties) among VC/PE institutions, with five portfolio companies going public so far this year: Geekplus, Butong Group, Saint Bella, Mirxes, and Bloks.

Recently, Cyzone's 2025 Most Admired Venture Capital Institutions list was released, with Gaorong Ventures named among the top 10 most admired venture capital institutions of 2025, as well as top 15 in AI sector investment institutions and top 10 in overseas expansion ecosystem investment institutions.

Robotics Industry Ecosystem

Inside JD.com & Tech Enterprise Roadshow

Recently, Gaorong Ventures Ronghui, together with Shoucheng Capital and CANPLUS, co-hosted the "Inside JD.com · Robotics Industry Ecosystem Closed-Door Meeting," bringing over 40 embodied intelligence entrepreneurs and investors into JD.com's global headquarters to experience the power of the JD ecosystem and exchange perspectives on robotics technology and industry integration pathways. Read more

On October 15, an investment and financing matchmaking session hosted by Shoucheng Capital, Gaorong Ventures, and Beijing's Tongzhou District was held, with 11 robotics and hard tech companies including Adaps Photonics, Hanwha Microelectronics, and Shixu Technology presenting their innovative technologies for investment and financing roadshows.

Globalization

AI + Global Growth Closed-Door Meeting

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and globalization, how can AI applications and SaaS quickly find product-market fit, establish commercial闭环, and further open the ceiling for growth? On October 24, Gaorong Ventures, together with Huawei Cloud and Deel, organized a closed-door meeting sharing perspectives across strategy, growth execution, and product dimensions. Huawei Cloud Global Sales VP Lu Yanping, Deel Greater China Business Lead Liao Zihua, and出海 benchmark companies including Dianxiaomi, Style3D, and XVERSE shared firsthand insights and dialogue — "Riding the AI Wave, Together for Overseas Growth."