Yunqi Capital Q3 Quarterly: As Autumn Arrives, the Harvest Is Underway
A Quick Look at Yunqi Capital's Recent Developments
This fall, visions of the future are becoming reality.
From brain-computer interfaces and embodied AI to nuclear fusion and quantum computing, frontier exploration keeps pushing forward. From autonomous logistics vehicles to pharmacy robots and Robotaxi, more technologies are beginning to create value in real-world scenarios.
In Q3 2026, Yunqi Capital welcomed 10 new portfolio companies, and 15 existing portfolio companies closed new funding rounds. The pace of innovation is accelerating, and long-term investments are starting to show results.
In this quarterly issue, we share the progress we witnessed together this fall.
PART 1
Funding Updates
"IPO Progress"
Manycore Tech Selected for Hang Seng Composite Index, Officially Included in Stock Connect
On August 21, Hang Seng Indexes Company announced its semi-annual review results. Manycore Tech (00068.HK) was officially selected as a constituent of the Hang Seng Composite Index, effective September 7, and was simultaneously included in the Stock Connect Southbound Trading list, allowing qualified mainland investors to trade directly through Stock Connect. On August 27, the company released its first post-IPO earnings report: H1 total revenue of RMB 405 million, with AI new applications and new product revenue up 177% year-over-year; adjusted net profit of RMB 55 million, up 210.9% year-over-year; daily token consumption in July reached approximately 2.4 billion, highlighting its value as the "water seller for spatial intelligence." Learn more
MiniMax Releases First Post-Listing Interim Results
On the evening of August 26, MiniMax (00100.HK) disclosed its 2026 interim results: H1 total revenue of USD 117 million, up 283.1% year-over-year, approximately 1.5x its full-year 2025 revenue; Q2 revenue up 81.8% quarter-over-quarter; August ARR already exceeded USD 800 million; enterprise customers and developers surpassed 2 million (10x the number at end-2025); July token consumption was 20x that of January. The B2B to B2C revenue ratio shifted from 3:7 in the prior year to approximately 8:2. During the reporting period, the company released MiniMax M3 and open-weight H3. Learn more
"New Investments"
SJTU-Yunqi AI Angel Fund (Partial)
Co-invested in Suoge Zhizhi's Angel Round, Accelerating AI-Driven New Materials Commercialization
#AI4S
The company focuses on using proprietary AI computing engines and integrated technologies to drive new materials R&D, targeting critical challenges in new materials design under national strategic needs. Through materials atomic foundation models + high-performance simulation + wet-dry experimental closed loops, it bridges cross-scale R&D chains and promotes breakthroughs in core technology localization and key materials self-sufficiency. Learn more
Co-invested in VeloAlpha Technology's Seed+ Round, Reconstructing Fusion R&D Paradigm with AI
#NuclearFusion
The company focuses on controllable nuclear fusion digital reactor platform R&D and fusion route optimization services, intensively releasing multiple core products. The flagship product FusionAlpha's core modules demonstrated generational speed improvements over mainstream international codes at equivalent precision in multiple benchmark tests, with validation costs for a single fusion technology route reducible to the RMB-hundreds level. Learn more
Co-invested in Honghu Future Energy, Building a Global Stellarator Hub with Shanghai Jiao Tong University
#NuclearFusion
The company focuses on three key links: magnetic field configuration design optimization, 3D high-temperature superconducting magnet R&D, and advanced device assembly. Through the "Honghu Zhiyuan-1" project, it drives a closed loop from design to critical components to full-machine validation. Currently, the joint laboratory has assembled one of the world's rarest intact stellarator R&D teams, spanning the complete chain from fusion high-performance numerical simulation, device physics design, high-temperature superconducting magnet development to engineering system integration. Learn more
Co-invested in Huanma Yueqian's multi-million RMB Seed Round, Accelerating Quantum × AI Convergence
#QuantumComputing
The company focuses on quantum computing and AI integration innovation, positioned as a domestic quantum computing system-level software and application solutions provider, committed to building software infrastructure and intelligent agent platforms supporting fault-tolerant operation, large-scale deployment, and industrial applications. Learn more
Co-invested in Nakai Quantum's Angel+ Round, Peking University '98 Physics PhD Bets on Neutral Atoms
#QuantumComputing
The company is one of very few domestic startups simultaneously deploying both ultracold atom quantum simulation computing and neutral atom general-purpose quantum computing routes. Currently, the team leads domestically in controllable atomic species and ultra-low temperature manipulation capabilities, and also possesses internationally top-tier optical lattice and optical tweezer atomic manipulation technologies and advanced quantum Monte Carlo algorithms, simultaneously supporting quantum simulation and quantum computing platform R&D. Learn more
*Y Transformers Program (Partial)
"SigmaZ AI" Closes Multi-Million USD Round, Exploring Next-Generation Real-Time Interaction Models
#AIInfra
Yunqi Capital is the first institutional VC to invest in SigmaZ AI. The company's core moat comes from the team's composite know-how across model training, visual generation, and consumer-grade products. In July, a visual interaction demo video posted on X hit nearly 80,000 views in 6 hours, topped Today's News that same day, and led to signed LOIs with over 20 B-side prospective partners. Learn more
More New Partners
Co-invested in Quantum Dynamics' 100M+ RMB Seed Round, Former Cainiao CTO Bets on Physical AI
#EmbodiedAI
Company founder and CEO Sam Li spent 17 years at Alibaba Group and served as CTO of Cainiao. Leveraging logistics industry experience and AI technology accumulation, the team explores a "scene-first deployment, then backfeed to foundation" path, building Physical AI's data flywheel through real business scenarios. This round's funds will mainly be used for Physical AI core technology R&D, talent team building, and global market expansion, accelerating the full-chain construction from underlying models to scenario-based deployment for intelligent systems facing the physical world. Learn more
Co-invested in PHYMI's Nearly USD 100M Seed Round, Bringing Physical Agent into Open Dynamic Real Worlds
#EmbodiedAI
Founder and CEO Nianqiu Liu previously served as technical partner and director at DeepRoute.ai, personally experiencing the critical stage of China's high-level autonomous driving from L4 R&D to large-scale mass production. The team bridges frontier models, full-stack robotics engineering, and mass production delivery capabilities. This round's funds will mainly be used for Physical Agent core technology R&D, real dynamic data system construction, product engineering and scenario deployment, and team expansion, accelerating Physical Agent product iteration and development. Learn more
Co-invested in Cuisi Technology's new 100M+ RMB round, Customizing Inference Chips for Diverse Edge Scenarios
#AIInfra
The company focuses on edge AI chip design, currently in the stage from methodology validation toward commercial delivery. The team previously completed an academic tape-out of a 28nm RISC-V out-of-order core, running through the complete design flow from specification to layout. On the commercial side, the company is conducting model evaluation and joint product definition with multiple AI hardware and consumer electronics customers, with the first direction focused on edge voice recognition. Learn more
Co-led Huachao Shenkong's RMB 200M Pre-A Round, Betting on Non-Invasive AI Brain-Computer Interface
#BrainComputerInterface
The company takes ultrasound neuromodulation, multi-modal brain reading, and AI neural decoding as its core technology paths, laying out three product lines around scientific research, clinical applications, and consumer technology. Its development mainline is to become a benchmark enterprise for non-invasive AI brain-computer interfaces in China, and on this basis grow into a Neuro AI company with brain data as its foundation. Learn more
"Follow-on Rounds"
Increased stake in Poke Robotics' USD-hundred-million-level Pre-A round, exploring the "manipulation" challenge in embodied intelligence
#Embodied Artificial Intelligence
Poke Robotics, a portfolio company of the Yunqi-SJTU AI Angel Fund, will focus on robotic manipulation as a core capability, exploring a general embodied intelligence system that integrates world action models, reinforcement learning, and real-world data to accelerate the deployment of Physical AI in practical scenarios. Learn more
Increased stake in Feijiekesi's hundred-million-yuan A1 round, deepening investment in the physical AI infrastructure track
#Embodied Artificial Intelligence
The company boasts a top-tier core team led by Professor Lihua Zhang of Fudan University, a founding architect of NVIDIA's PhysX physics simulation engine, and has achieved multiple breakthroughs in physical AI and embodied intelligence foundational technology. It has built China's first full-stack, self-developed physical intelligence technology system, addressing the industry-wide "physical hallucination" challenge from the ground up and filling a technical gap in China's physical intelligence foundational ecosystem. Learn more
Increased stake in T-Chef's nearly RMB 100 million strategic round, as cooking robot achieves profitability
#Embodied Artificial Intelligence
The company has already surpassed RMB 100 million in revenue with sustained profitability, with products deployed across multiple countries and regions globally. It projects 300% revenue growth in 2026 compared to 2025. Its products have penetrated diverse sectors including smart manufacturing, elderly care, campus cafeterias, fast-food chains, fresh retail, and cultural tourism hotels. It has landed the logistics cafeteria of the world's largest new energy vehicle manufacturer and scaled deployment across school cafeterias in the Beijing area. Learn more
Increased stake in Tiiny AI's tens-of-millions-of-dollars angel round series, from $3 million crowdfunding to 10,000-unit deployments
#AI Infra
Tiiny AI, a Yunqi seed-round portfolio company and Personal Agent OS developer, has in just over a year completed successive leaps from technical judgment to product validation to industrial deployment: its debut product Tiiny AI Pocket raised over $3 million on Kickstarter and has now entered mass production and delivery. Simultaneously, it is advancing deep OS-level partnerships with top-tier international PC manufacturers, with subsequent deployment demand projected to exceed 10,000 units. Learn more
Angel-round portfolio company LightStandard completes billion-yuan financing, advancing toward optical computing mass production
#AI Infra
The company has become one of the world's most highly funded, fastest-developing, and most commercially advanced optical computing companies. Its first-generation optical computing product already matches the performance of mainstream domestic AI inference chips. It has completed scaled delivery of over ten optical computing systems, and at this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference unveiled two world-first technologies: a 256×256 optical computing chip and a glass-substrate optical computing chip. Learn more
Angel-round portfolio company NovaFusion completes RMB 1.2 billion Pre-A series, becoming China's first private-sector nuclear fusion decacorn
#Nuclear Fusion
The company is the only domestic enterprise to command the complete FRC-SMR core technology stack. This round set new domestic records in the private nuclear fusion track for funding scale, speed, and valuation. "Nova-1" has completed engineering design and core component development, entering system integration, with plans for first plasma discharge by end of 2026, 100 million degrees Celsius by 2027, Q>1 by 2029, and a 50–100 MW commercial demonstration plant in the 2030s. Learn more
Angel-round lead project Astribot completes new RMB 1 billion round, accelerating cable-driven robot mass production
#Embodied Artificial Intelligence
Leveraging full-stack accumulation in cable-driven technology, the company has fully validated its development path from prototype verification to scaled mass production, demonstrating rare strength in product iteration and cost control: in September 2025 its flagship S series opened thousand-unit orders, and in June 2026 its next-generation humanoid robot T1 began shipping, becoming the first to bring high-dexterity manipulation robots to the RMB 90,000 price range. Learn more
Pre-A portfolio company Taiyi Liangsheng completes new funding round, accelerating toward large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing
#Quantum Computing
The company has achieved three critical engineering milestones: completing full prototype system integration within six months, achieving real-time control latency in the 10-microsecond range, and open-sourcing its quantum compiler "LUOSHU" globally. This round will primarily fund continued R&D investment and ecosystem building, including global scientific talent recruitment, deepening quantum error correction and systems engineering capabilities, and industrial partnerships and open-source ecosystem development to support the long-term advancement of large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing. Learn more
Angel-round portfolio company Yitu Technology completes Pre-B round, AICAR officially launches
#AI + Automotive
To date, the company has served over 70% of domestic top-tier automakers and mainstream joint-venture brands, with dozens of vehicle models in scaled mass production and cumulative deliveries reaching millions of units. This round will accelerate scaled promotion of AICAR, driving deployment of the next-generation AICAR deeply integrated with self-developed edge-side models. It will simultaneously advance multi-terminal strategic layout and global market expansion, while strengthening multi-site R&D delivery systems and high-end talent pipeline development. Learn more
Seed-round lead project MagicForm completes A round, daily Token call volume reaches trillions
#AI Infra
The "Token Super Factory" business has entered a phase of rapid expansion: through high-quality Token supply and superior service capabilities, the company's daily Token call volume has reached trillions, with customers and partners spanning internet companies, large model vendors, and leading enterprises across industries, with continuously expanding market share. Learn more
Angel-round sole-invested project CREAO AI completes new multi-million-dollar round, enabling self-evolution for Agent Harness
#AI Infra
Less than a year since founding, the company has cumulatively raised over $30 million. Since platform launch four months ago, it has created 270,000 new Agents, with over 95% of Agents running daily on repeat — AI has truly entered users' daily workflows. Learn more
Noematrix completes hundred-million-yuan strategic investment, deepening refinement in embodied scenarios
#Embodied Artificial Intelligence
The company's robots have already achieved batch deployment in pharmacies. Following this round, it will continue advancing R&D and iteration of embodied intelligence large models with strong generalization and high autonomous decision-making capabilities, accelerating embodied intelligence deployment in real-world scenarios such as hotel laundry and home organization, and driving embodied intelligence to become the bridge connecting the digital and physical worlds. Learn more
Xingji receives investment from domestic EDA leader Empyrean Technology, deepening industrial chain collaboration
#AI Infra
The company's core product AmazeSys is China's first fully self-developed digital place-and-route tool, already validated by top domestic IC design companies and deeply partnered with major domestic foundries. The recent introduction of domestic EDA leader Empyrean Technology as a strategic shareholder will help both parties form tighter collaboration in technical synergy and product integration, reducing self-development cycles and uncertainty. Learn more
Angel-round project Joyskim completes tens-of-millions-of-yuan round, already achieved break-even
#AI Agent
The company currently has nearly 100 cumulative paying customers, with order and revenue CAGR exceeding 300% from 2023 to 2025, and first-half 2026 revenue already surpassing full-year 2025. This round will primarily fund AIGO model training, driving continuous evolution of the AI FDE Model, completing the RSI closed loop, and accelerating market replication of already-validated scenarios. Learn more
Triastek completes new strategic round, launching oral peptide new strategy
#AI4S
As the only Chinese enterprise holding a 3D-printed drug manufacturing license, the company has built a full-chain technology platform covering drug dosage form design, digital development, and continuous production. This round will primarily fund construction of the company's Shanghai International R&D and Production Center, clinical advancement of oral peptide pipelines, and international partnership expansion. Learn more
PART 2
Ecosystem Connection
Centered on frontier directions including embodied intelligence, world models, quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces, and nuclear fusion, Yunqi connects university, industry, and entrepreneur ecosystems, continuously advancing collaboration and dialogue.
Connecting Ecosystem Summits
01
Yunqi x 2026 World Robot Conference (WRC)
On August 21, Yunqi Partners and SEE Fund co-hosted the symposium "The New Wave of Embodied AI: World Models and Intelligent Infrastructure," with support from Mars Accelerator and the Tsinghua University Alumni Association Electronic Engineering Branch. The event brought together researchers from leading university labs, major domestic foundation model and cloud service platforms, and founders from frontier startups working on world models, robot hardware and applications, and data and compute infrastructure. Over 200 attendees from across the embodied AI industry, research, and investment communities joined. In three-plus hours, discussion ranged from technical approaches to data efficiency, compute infrastructure, and real-world deployment — speakers and audience alike exploring what comes next for embodied AI. Learn more
02
Yunqi x 2026 Future Science Forum
The 2026 Future Science Forum was held in Shanghai, gathering over 50 top scientists, 10 academicians, and 8 Future Science Prize laureates for interdisciplinary exchange on fundamental science and future technologies. Michael Mao, founding managing partner of Yunqi Capital, participated in forum programming in his capacity as a Future Forum director. This marked another deep connection between Yunqi and the scientific community. Learn more
03
Yunqi x 2026 CIOE
In September, the China International Optoelectronic Exposition opened in Shenzhen. Yunqi has invested in optoelectronics and semiconductors for years, and three early-stage portfolio companies — NovaSight, Innovative Semiconductor Substrate Technology, and Plexin Intelligent — showcased their latest progress. Our investors also brought back observations from the floor: 4,000 exhibitors, 190,000 attendees, and AI infrastructure as the clearest through-line of this year's expo, which they distilled into four shifts reshaping the optoelectronics industry. Learn more
Close to the Makers
Y Transformers x Future Origin Community:
Overseas PhDs and Domestic AI Founders Exchange
On August 14, nearly 30 PhDs, postdocs, and junior faculty from global institutions including MIT, Stanford University, and Cambridge joined nearly 20 domestic AI founders at Yunqi Partners for "Paper, Partner, Possibility: Overseas PhDs and Domestic AI Founders BBQ," co-hosted by Yunqi and the Future Origin Community. The gathering focused on research commercialization, entrepreneurial pathways, and collaboration opportunities. Learn more
Industry Insights
01
Attent!on Podcast Vol. 18:
Brain-Computer Interfaces Beyond Science Fiction: A Conversation with Ximing Wang of Kongshanci
From top-tier clinical settings to home bedrooms — how many steps to rebuild prefrontal order? We spoke with Ximing Wang, co-founder of Kongshanci, a portfolio company of the Yunqi-SJTU AI Angel Fund. Learn more
02
Attent!on Podcast Vol. 19:
Scaling Isn't Just Stacking Data:
Three Embodied AI Founders on World Models, Talent, and Real-World Deployment
During the World Robot Conference, we spoke with three active founders — from Poke Robotics, Quantum Dynamics, and PHYMI — drawing on their real training, product, engineering, and commercial experience over the past year to share their judgments and intuitions. Learn more
03
Yunqi Insights x Lai Dian Shen Du:
Beneath the Hype, What Is Long-Term Value?
Amid the embodied AI boom, which developments represent genuine technical progress and which are froth? With world models, VLA approaches, and million-hour-quality datasets still evolving, how should investors assess a company's long-term value? Yu Chen, managing partner at Yunqi, joined the video podcast "Lai Dian Shen Du" for a conversation with Shao Yujia, managing partner at Shendu Capital. Learn more
04
Yunqi Insights x Tencent:
You Can Ride the Bubble, But Manufacturing Eventually Has to Do the Math
Why capital keeps flooding into embodied AI, why use cases are converging on logistics and domestic service, whether world models mark a technical inflection point or merely a tool, and why data remains the slowest and most expensive variable in this race. Having followed and invested in multiple upstream and downstream embodied AI companies from the earliest stages, Yu Chen spoke with Tencent's "theSignal" in depth. Learn more
Yunqi Wins
Portfolio Highlights
Selected Updates
(Scroll to view)
"MiniMax"
H3 model tops Artificial Analysis Video Arena leaderboard
"Independent Variable Robotics"
"Robots Entering Homes" project selected for APEC Asia-Pacific Digital Intelligence Empowerment Case Collection
"AI2Robotics"
Ranked #1 in "Top 10 Most Popular New Products" at China International SME Fair (AlphaBot O1); selected for Asia-Pacific Top 10 Collaboration Cases alongside Huawei and Tencent
"XTransfer"
Selected for CNBC 2026 World's Top Fintech Companies
"Neolix"
Selected for Wealth China Tech 50 2026
"JD.com"
Won Sedex Supply Chain Award for Technology Innovation
"Zhijing Technology"
Named an Outstanding Blue Team Unit in Shanghai's "Gongfu Li Wang" program for two consecutive years
"VeloAlpha Technology"
Founder Dr. Xie Huasheng named to the 2026 World's Top 2% Scientists list
Yunqi Capital Awards
Selected Highlights
(Scroll down to view)
ChinaVenture
2026 Top 10 Best Early-Stage VC Firms in the Yangtze River Delta
36Kr
Top 30 Investors in China's Embodied AI Industry
Top 30 Investors in China's AI Industry
Top 30 Investors in China's Embodied AI Industry (Michael Mao)
Top 30 Investors in China's AI Industry (Yu Chen)
FOFweekly
2026 GP Soft Power Rankings — Top 100
AI — Top 30
Best Exit — Top 30
LP Club
Top 30 GPs for Future Industry Investment in China
TMTpost
Top 20 Post-Investment Management Pioneers
Top 20 in AI Infrastructure
Top 20 in AI Applications (Hardware)
Top 20 in Embodied AI / Robotics
Top 20 in Frontier Technology
Top 5 in Aerospace
Jazzyear
Top 50 Best AI Investment Firms
Top 30 Best AI Investors (Yu Chen)
Qimingpian
Top 15 Best Early-Stage Investment Firms in China
Top 15 Most Active Early-Stage Investment Firms in China
Top 10 Investment Firms in Embodied AI
Top 10 Investment Firms in Commercial Aerospace
