ZhenFund angel project **Helium Starlink** (*氦星光联*) closes nearly RMB 200 million Series A1 round to accelerate buildout of space-ground integrated optical communications network

Helium Starlink Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Helium Starlink) announced in 2025 that it has officially completed its Series A1 funding round of nearly RMB 200 million. This round was jointly invested by Meishan Huantian Industrial Development Group, Luxin Venture Capital Baoding Electro-Valley Fund, Hebei Coastal Industry Investment Fund, Zhongshan Venture Capital, and Zhongyi Mingyuan, among others. In 2021, ZhenFund became the first-round investor from the company's inception and has accompanied it ever since.

Since its establishment, Helium Starlink has continuously pushed the boundaries of in-house R&D, driven down costs, achieved rapid revenue growth, and steadily reduced losses. To date, the company has completed multiple efficient funding rounds. The completion of this Series A1 round not only validates its technical strength and commercial prospects but also marks a critical step in advancing space laser communications from "cutting-edge technology" to "scalable services." The proceeds will be primarily directed toward building optical ground transceiver systems across multiple locations nationwide, further strengthening the core ground infrastructure of an integrated space-ground network.

Deepening technical breakthroughs: Helium Starlink will continue iterating its globally leading space laser communication technology, consolidating its advantages in high throughput, miniaturization, and low cost, while advancing breakthroughs in core component self-development to further raise the in-house R&D rate of its existing core optoelectronic devices.

Expanding production capacity: The company will upgrade its existing laser communication terminal production lines to overcome bottlenecks in batch and automated production. Through continuous optimization and upgrades, it will improve integration levels, simultaneously enhancing yield rates and output frequency while reducing component usage, driving products toward highly integrated designs. By lowering costs across the entire value chain, it aims to fulfill its long-term vision of making "stargazing no longer expensive."

Completing network deployment: Helium Starlink will fully commit to building an optical ground transceiver system network covering key nodes nationwide, solidifying the core ground hub of an integrated space-ground network, and driving deep adoption of laser communications across multiple scenarios including ground-based and airborne applications.

In 2025, Helium Starlink's regional industrial layout continued to deepen and take shape. Centered on the Yangtze River Delta, Sichuan-Chongqing, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei core economic zones, the company has built a strategic framework integrating R&D, production, and sales with coordinated development, where each region has differentiated positioning and efficient linkage, laying solid spatial foundations for scaled growth.

At the same time, the company has established a vertically integrated R&D and manufacturing system: the R&D side focuses on core technology breakthroughs and innovation to provide sustained technological enablement for industrial development; the production side concentrates on implementing key processes and unlocking capacity to translate technical achievements into physical products; the manufacturing side centers on precision manufacturing of core sub-assemblies, using standardized controls to ensure product quality and delivery capability. Through full-chain vertical integration, the company further cements its core advantages of complete in-house development and domestic controllability, providing solid support for business expansion and technology iteration.

As a company deeply rooted in the space laser communications field, Helium Starlink has always regarded technological innovation as its foundation.

The company's R&D team has doubled in size, with its core talent pipeline continuously expanding. The core team hails from leading domestic institutions including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beihang University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Harbin Institute of Technology, forming a core force covering the entire industry chain with both scientific research and engineering capabilities. With solid technical strength and precise market positioning, revenue has tripled while losses continue to narrow, demonstrating strong commercial growth resilience and sustainable development potential. Centered on the philosophy of "high throughput, miniaturization, low cost," the company has achieved a series of key technical breakthroughs: its new-generation spaceborne laser communication terminal adopts an innovative cantilever design with industry-leading swing amplitude, capable of providing high-speed, long-distance, low-latency stable data transmission in diverse and complex environments spanning air, space, ground, and sea.

All Helium Starlink products have achieved 100% success rates for orbital insertion and link establishment, possessing industry-leading reliability and on-orbit stability. As the exclusive terminal payload provider, the company has been deeply involved in constructing China's first space-based intelligent computing constellation — the Three-Body Computing Constellation. The company has established solid partnerships with multiple domestic mainstream satellite operators, system integrators, and leading IDC data service providers. In 2025, it joined hands with central SOEs and chip companies to establish the "Aerospace Intelligent Computing Joint R&D Center," deeply cultivating an integrated innovation path combining "laser communications + intelligent computing + energy management" in aerospace scenarios, while partnering with international collaborators to build a global "AI + space communications" network, continuously strengthening its ecological position.

Following this funding round, Helium Starlink will further intensify R&D related to space computing constellation networking, optimizing the performance of spaceborne laser communication terminals in computing interconnection scenarios, providing stable and reliable communications support for space data processing, AI computing, and other missions, and continuously consolidating its core position in the space computing center track.

Using this funding as a new starting point to drive technology toward universal services, Helium Starlink founder Tan Jun stated: "This funding round represents an important milestone for the company. The capital will be used to accelerate core component R&D, expand production capacity deployment, and focus on building optical ground transceiver system networks with broader coverage. We will always adhere to 'customer-centricity, quality as life,' dedicated to advancing satellite laser communications from 'high-end applications' to 'universal services,' contributing private enterprise strength to building national integrated space-air-ground information infrastructure."

With the closing of this nearly RMB 200 million Series A1 round, combined with the efficient coordination of its full-coverage R&D and production network spanning the Yangtze River Delta, Sichuan-Chongqing, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and other core regions, Helium Starlink is accelerating its transformation from a technology-driven enterprise to an industry leader with both scaled delivery capabilities and ecosystem-building strength. The company not only lays high-speed "space optical fibers" for satellite internet — its core technology also broadly enables diverse scenarios including emergency communications, connectivity for remote areas, low-altitude economy, and mass consumer applications, truly realizing its vision of aerospace technology serving national welfare and people's livelihoods. Driven by the dual engines of capital and industry, Helium Starlink is steadily weaving a high-speed communications network covering heaven and earth, reaching toward the future, continuously infusing "Chinese wisdom" and "Chinese solutions" into the development of the global aerospace information industry.