Early Spring Warms, All Things Compete to Bloom｜Z News

Z News is ZhenFund's news column.

As early spring warms and everything begins to bloom, every day in April carries the force of growth. In this season of budding hope, we bring you our April monthly report — an invitation to witness the progress of our portfolio companies and the latest from ZhenFund. Double espresso, served fresh.

ZhenFund angel project CellX earns U.S. GRAS certification for mycelium-fermented protein; high-protein mushroom snack line Mourish hits American market

CellX's morel mycelium ingredient has officially received U.S. GRAS (Self-Affirmed GRAS) certification. Following rigorous food safety data review, an expert panel unanimously affirmed the safety of this mycelium protein component — a milestone marking CellX's formal entry into the U.S. market. "After four years of R&D and industrial exploration, we are thrilled to take this important step toward commercialization," said Ziliang Yang, co-founder and CEO of CellX.

"Our initial commercial focus is building the B2C brand Mourish — Mushrooms that Nourish — to engage and communicate deeply with consumers through the brand and its products." At the same time, CellX hopes its mycelium protein ingredient can empower more food companies to develop healthy, high-quality plant-based foods, ready-to-eat snacks, functional beverages, and other products — collectively advancing novel proteins from concept to table.

ZhenFund angel project Momenta wins "Technology Development · Harvest Award"; co-developed model with FAW Toyota launching soon

On March 31, FAW Toyota held its 2025 Supplier Conference in Tianjin. Hiroshi Fujiwara, president of FAW Toyota, Bi Wenquan, party secretary and executive vice president, and other senior executives attended. At the conference, Momenta received the "Technology Development · Harvest Award" — reportedly the first of its kind established by FAW Toyota to recognize suppliers with breakthrough progress in new technologies, particularly those enhancing the company's competitiveness in intelligentization. As a leader in autonomous driving, Momenta leverages its strengths to empower automakers, providing advanced intelligent driving solutions for key models including Toyota's all-electric bZ3, helping FAW Toyota achieve product breakthroughs during this critical period of electrification and intelligent transformation.

Second from left: Momenta VP of R&D Gang Sun accepting the award

ZhenFund early-stage project Xiaoshouyi named to China Unicorn Enterprise list again

The Global Unicorn Enterprise Conference was recently held during the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum. The Zhongguancun Unicorn Enterprise Development Alliance, together with the Science and Technology & Standards Research Institute of the China Center for Information Industry Development, released the China Unicorn Enterprise Development Report (2025). Tencent-backed CRM platform Xiaoshouyi was selected for the China Unicorn Enterprise list, recognized for its outstanding market performance and innovation capabilities in software and information services.

Recently, Xiaoshouyi upgraded its strategic partnership with Tencent, deepening collaboration across product, technology, and ecosystem dimensions. Tencent will further open its core capabilities in cloud computing, big data, and AI to help Xiaoshouyi enhance product performance and service quality, delivering superior user experiences and intelligent capabilities. The technical collaboration has already borne fruit: the two parties launched China's first AI CRM, NeoAgent, which employs a multi-model solution combining Tencent's Hunyuan large model with DeepSeek's open-source model. By integrating Hunyuan's foundation and multimodal capabilities, this pushes China's CRM industry fully into a new era of "agent-driven business," delivering more capable AI for users and customers.

ZhenFund angel project Horizon Robotics' first collaboration with NIO, the firefly, officially launches

On April 19, NIO officially launched its new brand firefly and its namesake vehicle, marking the formal debut of Horizon Robotics' first collaboration with NIO. The firefly comes standard with Horizon Robotics' Journey computing solution, delivering 128 TOPS of compute power paired with 24 high-performance perception sensors. Its intelligent navigation assist NOP covers 99% of highways and urban expressways, with automated parking across diverse scenarios — directly addressing the pain point of tight parking spaces.

As a premium intelligent electric small car for the global market, the firefly refreshes the compact luxury experience through trustworthy active and passive safety, distinctive original design, ingenious space utilization and intelligent features, and nimble driving dynamics. Going forward, Horizon Robotics will continue leveraging its leading software-hardware integrated technology to help the firefly deliver safe, reliable intelligent assisted driving — keeping the charge going.

ZhenFund angel project Feiyu Technology named to 36Kr's "2025 AI-Native Application Innovation Cases"

36Kr, a leading Chinese tech media outlet, recently announced its "2025 AI-Native Application Innovation Cases" selections. Feiyu Technology earned its place on the list with its industry-leading "AI Application Security Intelligent Operations Solution." The evaluation focused on AI-native applications with real commercial value, assessed through four rigorous dimensions: technological innovation, practical effectiveness, industry demonstration value, and social impact — aiming to identify innovations that genuinely drive industrial upgrading.

The solution's selection demonstrates the strong support that Feiyu Technology's self-developed technology provides for driving innovation ecosystems, and confirms its demonstration value in advancing industrial intelligent transformation.

ZhenFund angel project DeepGlint named to both of QbitAI's 2025 AIGC lists

On April 16, the 3rd China AIGC Industry Summit opened in Beijing. Hosted by QbitAI under the theme "Everything Can Be AI," the summit's centerpiece — the "2025 AIGC Enterprises to Watch" and "2025 AIGC Products to Watch" dual lists — were officially released. DeepGlint made both lists.

ZhenFund angel project Hanwei Technology named to Forbes China's inaugural "Investment Value Startups 100"

On April 7, Forbes China released its inaugural "Investment Value Startups 100" list. Zhejiang Hanwei Technology was selected for its innovative technological breakthroughs in novel energy storage and the commercial potential of its products.

Yole 2025 industry report: ZhenFund early-stage project Hesai Technology ranks first in global lidar market share for fourth consecutive year

International research authority Yole Group recently released its Lidar for Automotive 2025 report. The report notes that Hesai claimed three global firsts in the automotive lidar market: overall market share, ADAS lidar market share, and L4 autonomous driving lidar market share — making it the only company in the industry to achieve "multiple global firsts" for four consecutive years, fully demonstrating its leading position and sustained momentum in the global lidar market.

ZhenFund angel project ChromX CEO Dr. Junqi Wang named "2025 Forbes China Industry Pioneer"

On March 23, the "China Entrepreneurs Annual Conference & Forbes China Industry Pioneer Awards" — co-hosted by Forbes China and Frost & Sullivan — was held in Shanghai. Dr. Junqi Wang, founder, chairman and CEO of ChromX, was named to the "2025 Forbes China Industry Pioneer" list for his groundbreaking innovations in exhaled breath diagnostics, becoming the only winner from the breath testing industry among 19 outstanding representatives in the biomedical field.

Leveraging top-tier resources and professional teams in industry research and media communications, Forbes and Frost & Sullivan selected over 50 individuals of exceptional global influence and innovative spirit from a vast pool of candidates across biomedicine and other key sectors through rigorous data analysis and market research. Dr. Wang joined pioneers from prominent enterprises including East Money, Mercedes-Benz, and Changfeng Pharmaceutical on the list.

"2025 Forbes China Industry Pioneers" (awards ceremony)

ZhenFund angel project ChromX and National Center for Respiratory Medicine present new paradigm for benign/malignant pulmonary nodule differentiation at ELCC

The 2025 European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) was held in Paris, France from March 26–29. A major international academic conference in lung cancer, ELCC brings together the latest research advances and achievements in global lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.

ChromX Health, in collaboration with the National Center for Respiratory Medicine, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, and Professor Jianxing He's team at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, presented a large-scale clinical study in exhaled breath-based lung cancer early diagnosis — Innovative Portable Breathomic Device For Early Non-Invasive Differentiation of Benign And Malignant Lung Nodules. The study was selected for poster presentation and received the conference's Merit Travel Award. As an important outcome of the National Center for Respiratory Medicine's "Ten Thousand Cases Initiative," the study was completed with participation from Dr. Qiang Li's team at Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Dr. Shengli Yang's team at Foshan First People's Hospital.

Validating the efficacy of exhaled VOC and micro-gas chromatography technology for benign/malignant pulmonary nodule differentiation across a multicenter cohort of 3,190 Chinese patients, the study provides the largest cohort evidence to date for lung cancer breath diagnosis technology.

Shanghai CPPCC focuses on 15th Five-Year Plan development, visits ZhenFund angel project Weijing Energy Storage to explore new paths for energy storage industry

On April 17, the Shanghai CPPCC Human Resources and Environment Construction Committee conducted research at Weijing Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. as part of its study on "Accelerating energy storage system construction to support Shanghai's economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period."

During discussions, Ge Qun, Shanghai CPPCC Standing Committee member and co-founder/chairman of Weijing Energy Storage, introduced the company's development and offered analysis and recommendations on Shanghai's power supply structure, demand trends, characteristics of multiple energy storage technology routes, their economic and social value, and industrial policy orientation.

Ma Jing, Standing Committee member and director of the Human Resources and Environment Construction Committee, stated that per the CPPCC's annual consultation plan, the committee will focus on Shanghai's scientific formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan this year, conducting research on strategic, foundational, and key issues in the plan's development. Energy storage facility construction holds major significance for ensuring Shanghai's power security, energy conservation and emissions reduction, and industrial development — a hot topic among many committee members, hence its selection as a research topic. Weijing Energy Storage has accumulated substantial technological expertise, engineering practice, and construction and operations experience in this area; its insights and recommendations are highly valuable for helping the committee clarify key issues, formulate precise recommendations, and provide high-quality decision-making references for the municipal party committee and government.

Qatar's Al Jazeera interviews ZhenFund early-stage project UISEE CEO Gansha Wu: establishing a global benchmark for reliable autonomous vehicle operations at Hamad International Airport

On March 28, Guangdong EHang General Aviation Co., Ltd. and Hefei Heyi Aviation Co., Ltd. received the first nationwide civil unmanned aerial vehicle operator certificates (OC) for passenger-carrying operations from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This formally opens the prologue to China's low-altitude economy "passenger era" — citizens and consumers can now purchase tickets at designated operation points in Guangzhou and Hefei to experience low-altitude sightseeing, urban aerial tours, and diverse commercial passenger services. Going forward, operators will gradually and compliantly expand to additional scenarios such as urban commuting based on operational performance. The first OC issuances mark a new milestone for the low-altitude economy and urban air mobility, unleashing even greater vitality from new quality productive forces.

Text by Cindy & Jiamin

Edited by Wendi