About This Issue of Rongbao

Tackling world-class technical challenges, pushing industrial applications forward, upending conventional product expectations... This issue of Rongbao rounds up recent funding rounds in healthcare, semiconductors, and other sectors, alongside key technical breakthroughs, commercial milestones, and industry recognition for innovative companies.

Funding

#01

Vitara Biomedical Closes $200 Million Series B Developing Transformative Therapies for Age-Related Degenerative Diseases

Vitara Biomedical recently announced the completion of its Series B round. As an emerging biotech company, Vitara is dedicated to discovering and developing innovative drugs globally for age-related degenerative diseases. The round raised $200 million, co-led by Yunfeng Capital and Gaorong Ventures. Total funds raised to date now exceed $300 million.

Since its founding in 2017, Vitara has built a diversified R&D pipeline based on a series of breakthrough scientific discoveries, including the work of co-founder Academician Xiaodong Wang. The company targets key pathogenic mechanisms of age-related degenerative diseases, including programmed cell death, neuroprotective pathways, and neuroinflammation. Multiple preclinical studies are underway, with early-stage clinical trials already initiated for two drug candidates, SIR0365 and SIR2446.

Vitara plans to allocate the proceeds toward clinical development of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) inhibitors, while expanding its R&D scale and pipeline to develop potential best-in-class/first-in-class candidates for age-related degenerative diseases. Read more

#02

CDMO Company ZhiXiang Biologics Raises Over 500 Million RMB Series C Accelerating Biologics Development for Global Clients

ZhiXiang Biologics recently announced the completion of its Series C round, raising over 500 million RMB. The round was co-led by Gaorong Ventures and Qingsong Capital.

Founded in April 2018, ZhiXiang Biologics focuses on large-molecule biopharmaceutical process development and large-scale commercial manufacturing CDMO. With continuous advances in cutting-edge process development, it is among the few CDMOs with integrated capabilities spanning core technology, mass production, and commercialization.

ZhiXiang operates seven CDMO technology platforms covering GMP manufacturing, ADC, multi-culture, proprietary cell line development, developability analysis, viral safety testing, and formulation development. The company has production facilities in Suzhou Xiangcheng High-Tech Zone, Suzhou Industrial Park, and Changshu High-Tech Zone, with flexible production line expansion underway across all sites. Planned total capacity will reach 220,000 liters in 2023, giving it globally leading scale and cost advantages.

ZhiXiang's service portfolio covers monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, multispecific antibodies, fusion proteins, vaccines, and ADCs. It is also one of the few domestic companies capable of ADC drug manufacturing.

Through aggressive project timelines and flexible, innovative process development, ZhiXiang fully empowers novel drug clients to seize market opportunities. Additionally, its hybrid supply system combining partnership and in-house development enables high-level control of commercial production costs, effectively helping clients reduce total R&D expenditure while integrating quality resources. Read more

#03

VCSEL Leader Vertilite Secures Strategic Investment from Hesai, RoboSense

RoboSense, Hesai, and other top-tier LiDAR companies have recently made strategic investments in Vertilite, while EV giant BYD added to its existing stake. Gaorong Ventures invested in Vertilite's Series B in 2018 and has continued to participate in subsequent rounds.

Founded in 2015, Vertilite has spent years specializing in R&D and manufacturing of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) chips and epitaxial wafers. It was among the earliest Chinese companies to develop VCSEL chips for 3D sensing applications, with in-house epitaxial and packaging/testing production lines. Cumulative shipments have exceeded 50 million units, building substantial mass production experience.

As core components of 3D imaging and sensing systems, VCSEL chips are advancing from consumer-grade to automotive-grade applications. In consumer electronics, Vertilite's products are widely used across major smartphone brands, capturing the majority of the Android phone array VCSEL market in 2021. This year, Vertilite has pushed into the robotic vacuum market, with projected shipments of millions of VCSEL modules over the next three years. The company has also entered the drone VCSEL market, with tens of millions of chips and modules expected to ship over the next five years.

In automotive electronics, Vertilite has maintained continuous R&D investment since 2019. In 2020, its VCSEL products passed AEC-Q102 certification — becoming the industry's first VCSEL chips to do so — and are now in mass production for DMS applications at leading domestic EV manufacturers. As automotive LiDAR makers increase R&D investment in VCSEL-based LiDAR, Vertilite has established deep custom development partnerships with major LiDAR manufacturers across China, Europe, South Korea, and North America. Read more

By the Numbers

#01

Helixon Develops OmegaFold The World's First Algorithm to Predict Protein 3D Structure from Single Sequence

On July 22, Helixon, a leading Chinese AI-driven drug discovery company, announced the development of OmegaFold, a breakthrough technology for protein structure prediction. It is the first algorithm globally capable of predicting protein 3D structure from a single protein sequence alone, regarded as a landmark achievement in computational biology.

OmegaFold enables humans to determine three-dimensional structural information and infer biological function without requiring that a protein carry evolutionary imprints. This dramatically expands the searchable space and efficiency of protein design. On recent datasets from the continuous protein structure prediction competition CAMEO and the CASP13/14 competitions, OmegaFold's single-sequence predictions significantly outperformed AlphaFold2 and RoseTTAFold, achieving overall accuracy matching or exceeding the MSA-enabled versions of those algorithms.

Furthermore, OmegaFold achieved breakthrough progress on antibody proteins and orphan proteins — particularly in predicting the structure of antibody key functional regions. This promises unprecedented transformation and opportunity for large-molecule pharmaceutical development.

OmegaFill fills the final piece of the protein 3D structure prediction puzzle, potentially joining forces with AlphaFold2 to thoroughly resolve this half-century-old challenge.

#02

LiDAR Company Innoviz Wins $4 Billion Volkswagen Order Production Begins 2025

Israeli LiDAR company Innoviz announced it has signed a contract worth approximately $4 billion with Volkswagen to supply LiDAR components and perception software, with mass production expected to begin in 2025.

According to CNBC, Innoviz expects to provide 5 to 8 million LiDAR units over eight years to multiple brands within the Volkswagen Group.

Founded in 2016, Innoviz is a global leader in high-end solid-state LiDAR. LiDAR is a core sensor component for advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous vehicles. Innoviz has already launched multiple MEMS solid-state LiDAR products and supporting perception software, including InnovizOne, InnovizTwo, and Innoviz360.

#03

Innovusion Produces 10,000th High-Performance Automotive-Grade LiDAR Launches Integrated Ultra-Long-Range AI LiDAR

On July 5, Innovusion celebrated the 10,000th unit rollout of its high-performance automotive-grade LiDAR Falcon. Through efficient R&D, rigorous validation, and deep refinement and iteration, Innovusion overcame numerous challenges to become the first to mass-produce and deploy high-performance LiDAR for advanced driver assistance.

On urban expressways and highways, Innovusion enables longer, clearer, more stable perception with greater braking reaction time, contributing to safer, more reliable, and more comfortable intelligent driving experiences.

In July, Innovusion also launched the Falcon AI, a new integrated ultra-long-range AI LiDAR. Designed primarily for vehicle-road collaboration and smart highway scenarios, it achieves ultra-long detection range and ultra-high resolution while integrating a high-compute GPU module supporting various deep learning algorithms. This significantly reduces edge computing configuration requirements and system deployment complexity, effectively ensuring perception performance for smart transportation applications.

#04

Advance Intelligence Group's BNPL Brand Atome Launches Mid-Year Campaign Spanning Seven Markets with Over 1,000 Brand Partners

Advance Intelligence Group's "buy now, pay later" fashion and lifestyle brand Atome recently kicked off its biggest mid-year marketing campaign, "Own Your Expression."

As a leading BNPL brand in Asia, Atome promotes a positive, optimistic attitude toward consumption. It also serves as an important bridge for interactive engagement between merchants and consumers, and will continue partnering with quality merchants to bring consumers more premium products.

The six-week campaign spans seven markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. Atome collaborated with brand partners through pop-up stores, fashion shows, concerts, and influencer challenges, encouraging young consumers to express their individuality and style in creative, fun new ways.

#05

ProfoundBio's ADC Drug PRO1184 Receives FDA Clinical Trial Approval

ProfoundBio announced that its investigational new drug application for PRO1184 in advanced cancer patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

PRO1184 is a folate receptor alpha (FRα)-targeting antibody-drug conjugate using exatecan as payload, featuring a proprietary novel hydrophilic linker. The Phase 1 trial will evaluate PRO1184's safety, activity, and pharmacokinetics in patients with ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

ProfoundBio focuses on developing next-generation large-molecule targeted therapeutics, with a pipeline centered on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other antibody-based therapies. Leveraging its innovative technology platforms, the company has developed a portfolio of drug candidates targeting multiple tumor targets, currently in discovery and preclinical development stages.

#06

MiRXES Launches World's First Pan-Cancer Early Screening Study Combining cfRNA and cfDNA Multi-Omics

In July, MiRXES announced the official launch of CADENCE (CAncer Detected Early caN be CurEd), a multinational, multi-center, multi-omics (cfRNA, cfDNA, and protein) pan-cancer early screening study. The initiative is jointly led by MiRXES with the National University Hospital, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the Cancer Translational Research Programme under Singapore's Ministry of Health, National University of Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University.

Over the next three years, MiRXES plans to invest no less than 250 million RMB in the CADENCE project, establishing multi-center prospective cohorts across Singapore, China, and Japan. The study plans to enroll 12,000 subjects, covering nine cancer types with high incidence globally and particularly prevalent among Asian populations: lung, breast, colorectal, gastric, liver, esophageal, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.

The CADENCE project aims to develop a pan-cancer early screening model suitable for Asian populations, actively driving clinical translation of research findings, transforming the current state of cancer screening, reducing public health economic burdens, and contributing to early cancer detection and treatment.

Jul

Horizons

#01

WIRED Interviews Nuro CTO and Design Lead Unveiling the Engineering and Design of Nuro's Autonomous Vehicles

#02

Nothing Phone(1) Launches "A Complete Disruption of Mobile Technology"

Jul

Recognition

# Gaorong Ventures

Gaorong Ventures was recently ranked in the China FOF Research Center's 2022 Mid-Year Top 5 VC Funds by Returns. Gaorong Ventures founding partners Chang Chen, Gao Xiang, and Yue Bin were named to PEDaily's 2022 "TOP100 Investors" list.

# Portfolio Companies

The Shanghai United Media Group · STAR Market Daily 2022 Pioneer Science and Technology Entrepreneurs series was recently announced. The following were named to the Scientist Entrepreneur Pioneer list: Bai Jingwei, co-founder and chief scientist of Qitan Technology; Tan Yan, co-founder and CEO of Unknown; and Xu Wei, director and chief scientist of Huakong Qingjiao. Tong Tong, CEO of Tengyin Caizhi, was named to the Female Science and Technology Pioneer list. Jiaji Zhou, founder and CEO of XYZ Robotics, was recognized as a Science and Technology Elite.

Abogen Biosciences, GalaxySpace, Huakong Qingjiao, and Geekplus were named to Fortune's 2022 "China's Most Socially Impactful Startups."

China Energy Storage was named to the MIT Technology Review "50 Smartest Companies" (TR50).

Biren Technology was named to China Entrepreneur magazine's "2022 Top 21 High-Growth Innovative Companies."

Helixon, Qitan Technology, Unknown, and Westlake Omics were selected by CB Insights as "2022 Active China Bio-Computing Enterprises in the Digital Economy Era."

Eswin was named to the global electronics and semiconductor magazine EE Times "Silicon 100: Startups to Follow in 2022."

Jul

Ronghui

# Organizational Upgrade Season: Organizational Resilience and Enterprise Practice

In July, the Ronghui · Organizational Upgrade Season series, co-hosted with Amazon Web Services, continued.

Professor Kaiping Peng, known as "the father of positive psychology in China" and dean of Tsinghua University's School of Social Sciences, shared from a scientific perspective on the nature of psychological resilience and methods for enhancing it, as well as advice for entrepreneurs on building highly resilient organizations and cross-cultural communication. Read more

Zhao Peng, chairman and CEO of BOSS Zhipin, shared his distinctive perspectives on enterprise organization, covering organizational evolution, entropy increase caused by falsehood and obstruction, rule-making based on commonalities of human nature, innovation and trial-and-error, and talent and management development. Read more