AI-powered product design tool developer **Axiogena** has raised several million dollars in a Pre-A round led by Linear Capital.

Shanghai-based Orthogonal Technology, a developer of intelligent product design tools, recently announced the completion of a multi-million-dollar Pre-A funding round led by Linear Capital, with participation from Yunqi Capital and Fengwu Capital. The proceeds will primarily accelerate new product R&D and advance global commercialization.

In recent years, as global technology has advanced rapidly, cutting-edge fields including AI, cloud computing, and VR/AR have reached mature application stages. Humanity is on the verge of an exciting new era of high-tech experiences, one that will give rise to a wave of novel intelligent products that seem unimaginable today but will substantially elevate living standards. These new products will combine more elegant form factors with superior performance, while also becoming more intelligent and human-centric — better attuned to their relationships with people and nature. This demands that designers and engineers collaborate to solve three core design challenges: form creation (the product itself), behavior design (the product's "mind" and actions), and human-machine interaction design (how the product engages with humans and the natural environment). The Orthogonal team provides entirely new professional software and dedicated hardware solutions for the design of future intelligent products. Its comprehensive tool suite, built specifically for modern product design teams, efficiently handles every aspect of the design task, including form creation, behavior design, and human-machine interaction. Through its web-based platform, users can access and collaborate on projects from anywhere, enabling real-time synchronization and communication among team members. Beyond this, Orthogonal offers immersive design experiences through dedicated spatial computing devices, allowing designers to enter virtual environments where they can iteratively refine products in simulated real-world application contexts. The underlying technology for the platform's core behavioral design module derives from Modelica, a computer language specialized in physical behavior simulation that helps users break through in what is often the most challenging aspect of product design. Since its introduction in 1978, Modelica's development and application have received sustained attention and long-term funding from numerous European and American institutions, with broad adoption across aerospace, high-speed rail, automotive, and energy industries.

"We firmly believe that good technology shouldn't serve only cutting-edge industries — it should reach wider audiences and let more people enjoy the extraordinary experiences that technology brings. That's the opportunity we have as a startup. What we're working to do is make physical behavior simulation, this sophisticated technology, understandable and applicable to more people through an entirely new product architecture, unlocking greater potential in the future. As our company slogan — Inspire Human Creativity — conveys, we hope to use our products to spark people's creativity and help more users, whether scientists, engineers, architects, designers, or even artists, create intelligent products that improve human life," said Dr. Yang Ji, founder and CEO.

Orthogonal's founding mission is to create high-tech products infused with humanistic and artistic elements that resonate deeply with users. Throughout the design process, the team maintains humility and reverence for the deeper needs of customers and markets, insisting on crafting极致的用户体验 and hoping to convey the humanistic spirit of innovation, care, and design aesthetics through countless subtle details in its products.

During his decade as a senior scientist at the German Aerospace Center, Dr. Ji participated in multiple EU-funded Modelica-related technology innovation and application projects. In recognition of his scientific contributions and the innovation of Orthogonal's products, his alma mater, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), named him a 2023 TUM Ambassador — the first from the business world in the university's history. In Dr. Ji's view, this is not merely personal honor but, more importantly, validation of innovation and motivation to continue devoting energy to creating great products.

Co-founder Cheng Jia previously worked at major organizations including EMC and Huawei in both Germany and China, bringing extensive hands-on experience in computer operating system kernel development, cloud computing, and cloud storage technologies. The two founders' friendship of more than two decades has forged deep trust and默契 among core team members. Additionally, Orthogonal's advisory team includes the president of the Modelica Association, a former head of new energy product R&D at Bosch Group, and pioneers in human-machine interaction and computer vision, among other domain experts — providing strong support for rapid product realization. As the company has grown, so has its team, with members largely drawn from renowned domestic and international enterprises and universities. Orthogonal is expected to release products in the second half of 2023, with a target of reaching millions of users globally within three to five years.

About Linear Capital

Linear Capital is an early-stage investment firm focused on "frontier technology + industry" — frontier technologies represented by data intelligence, digital new infrastructure, next-generation robotics, and technological transformation in traditional domains (such as biomedicine, materials, and energy), applied across vertical industries to substantially improve industrial efficiency, empower solutions to pain points, and enable industrial upgrading. Through significant enhancement of industrial value, the firm achieves outsized commercial returns. It currently manages ten funds with total AUM of approximately $2 billion.

Linear Capital primarily leads seed to Series A rounds, with typical check sizes of $3–8 million or RMB equivalent.

To date, it has made early-stage investments in over 120 teams, including Horizon Robotics, Kujiale, Sensors Data, Tezign, Rokid, Guandata, and Agile Robots. The combined valuation of Linear Capital's portfolio companies is approximately $20 billion.

In the near term, Linear Capital is working to become the premier Data Intelligence Technology Fund, with a long-term vision of evolving into the most influential Frontier Technology Application Fund.