Winds of Change, a World Renewed | Z News

Z News is ZhenFund's news column.

September has just wrapped up, and we're looking back at the month's "highlight reel" — inviting you to witness the growth of our portfolio companies and what's new at ZhenFund. Double espresso, served fresh.

ZhenFund angel portfolio company CloudWalk Technology selected for MIIT's first batch of National Emerging Industry Development Demonstration Bases

On September 18, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced the first batch of National Emerging Industry Development Demonstration Base creation candidates. CloudWalk Technology was successfully selected as an enterprise-class candidate, the only Guangdong-based company chosen in the AI sector. The final selection comprised 21 park-based and 112 enterprise-based entities. This recognition reflects the national regulator's full endorsement of CloudWalk Technology's comprehensive capabilities in core chip R&D, domestic computing infrastructure development, emerging industry scenario deployment, and industrial ecosystem building. Read more

ZhenFund angel portfolio company NUVELL wins IFA 2026 Editor's Choice Award

From September 4–8, IFA 2026 (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) was held at the Berlin Exhibition Center. NUVELL unveiled its NUVELL Plantein Home Plant Protein System, which automates grinding, heating, filtering, and pressing in a single device to produce plant-based milk and fresh tofu. The product received the IFA 2026 "Editor's Choice Award."

Marie Gimborn, editor at German tech media outlet Inside Digital, presents the award to NUVELL

ZhenFund angel portfolio company Horizon Robotics surpasses 15 million shipments of Journey® AD chips

On September 3, Horizon Robotics announced that cumulative shipments of its Journey® intelligent driving chips had exceeded 15 million, maintaining its dual-lead position in both production volume and market share to stay atop China's intelligent driving chip market. As China's first automotive intelligent chip to achieve large-scale front-mounted mass production with the highest cumulative shipments, the Journey® series has now empowered 8 million vehicle owners and partnered with over 40 brands, including all of China's top ten automakers. Read more

ZhenFund early-stage portfolio company Hesai Technology launches MT series, the world's most compact ultra-high spatial resolution LiDAR

On September 15, at InterGEO 2026 in Munich, Germany, Hesai Technology launched its MT series ultra-high spatial resolution LiDAR. Built specifically for high-precision 3D spatial reconstruction clients, the MT redefines the performance ceiling for high-precision modeling LiDAR through its class-leading compact form factor, innovatively integrating ultra-small spot size, 3.5 mm ultra-high ranging precision, and unlimited encrypted scanning. According to on-site statistics from InterGEO 2026, Hesai LiDAR holds over 70% market share in the surveying and mapping application sector, ranking first globally in high-precision modeling LiDAR. Read more

Hefei Party Secretary Tan Weiguo visits and researches ZhenFund early-stage portfolio company Youibot

On the afternoon of September 24, Hefei Party Secretary Tan Weiguo conducted economic and social development research in Feidong County, accompanied by municipal leaders Liu Wenfeng and Wang Liangui. Tan engaged in in-depth discussions with Youibot's leadership, learning about product R&D, scenario applications, and market expansion, and encouraged the company to precisely align with industry demands, strengthen breakthroughs in key core technologies and product iteration, develop more benchmark application scenarios, and better empower diverse industries.

Youibot focuses on mobile manipulation robots, building a "one brain, multiple forms" embodied AI architecture that drives scalable deployment of multi-form robots in semiconductor, energy and chemicals, and lithium battery scenarios. To date, the company has implemented over 800 real-world industrial projects, serving more than 400 leading enterprises across over 30 countries and regions including China, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. By 2024 revenue, Youibot ranks first globally in industrial mobile manipulation robots. Read more

Multiple ZhenFund portfolio founders named to Jazzyear's "AI NEXT 20" list

On September 12, Jazzyear released its 2026 "AI NEXT 20" list, evaluating candidates across four dimensions: research accumulation, technical originality, entrepreneurial conversion, and growth potential. ZhenFund portfolio founders Tian Yang of Yinpu Technology, Songming Liu of LiberAI, and Odin of Valhalla Tech were named to the list.

Multiple ZhenFund portfolio founders named to "Vision 2026"人物榜

On September 11, the 2026 "Vision"人物榜单, jointly launched by the International Entrepreneurship and Investment Cluster and Xiaofanzhuo, was announced. ZhenFund portfolio founders Jia Kui of CrossWe, Lixue Xia of Infinigence AI, and Zhilin Yang of Moonshot AI were named to the "Top 50 New Unicorn Founders."

Multiple ZhenFund portfolio founders named to 36Kr's "China's Most Investor-Watched Prodigy Founders TOP10"

On September 10, 36Kr released its 2026 "Industrial Investment" series rankings. ZhenFund portfolio founders Songming Liu of LiberAI, Alex Liupincun of Yinniao Studio, and Mu Shibo of Yueban Power were named to the "China's Most Investor-Watched Prodigy Founders TOP10."

ZhenFund angel portfolio company Enflame Chairman Lidong Zhao delivers keynote at Shanghai SASAC AI seminar

On September 12, the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) organized an AI-themed seminar for the SASAC system, attended by SASAC leadership, agency staff, and heads of Shanghai municipal SOEs. Lidong Zhao, Chairman and CEO of Enflame, was invited to deliver a keynote address. Zhou Xiaoquan, Secretary and Director of Shanghai SASAC, presented Zhao with an appointment certificate as AI keynote speaker and decision-making consultant. On September 11, Enflame successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market. The company has already established multi-dimensional cooperation with Shanghai municipal SOEs including Shanghai International Group, Shanghai SDIC, Shanghai Instrument Group, and Shanghai Lingang Group. Read more

Multiple ZhenFund portfolio companies named to Jazzyear's "2025-2026 China Tech Industry Investment Rankings"

On August 20, Jazzyear officially released its "2025-2026 China Tech Industry Investment Rankings." ZhenFund portfolio companies Luchen Tech, Infinigence AI, and Moonshot AI were named to the "Most Investment-Worthy AI Companies" list; CrossWe was named to the "Most Investment-Worthy Embodied AI Companies" list.

ZhenFund early-stage portfolio company Moffett AI showcases at 2026 Inclusion·Bund Summit

From September 9–12, Moffett AI appeared at the 2026 Inclusion·Bund Summit, themed "Co-creating the AI New Economy." During the summit, Moffett displayed its AI compute card products, comprehensively presenting its technical approach of enhancing compute efficiency through specialized sparse inference chips to power the AI new economy. Going forward, Moffett will continue advancing compute innovation, boosting efficiency through specialized sparse inference chips, and accelerating AI productivity deployment across industries. Read more

ZhenFund angel portfolio company Lightelligence showcases Scale-up optical interconnect chip solutions and optical computing products at CIOE 2026

From September 9–11, the 27th China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE 2026) was held. Lightelligence showcased its NPO optical interconnect chip focused on AI compute Scale-up scenarios, CPO solutions, and optical computing products. During the expo, Lightelligence VP Jian Zhu delivered an in-depth presentation on silicon photonics applications in Scale-up optical interconnects. Driven by the dual engines of optical computing and optical interconnects, Lightelligence will continue contributing to high-quality development of AI compute infrastructure. Read more

ZhenFund angel portfolio company Chainway showcases at 2026 World Power Battery Conference

From September 3–6, the 2026 World Power Battery Conference, themed "Electrifying Everything · Integrated Symbiosis," was held in Yibin, Sichuan. Chainway displayed its AI intelligent bidirectional charging pile and new Moove modular power wheel system at the Minggao Ouyang Academician Workstation exhibition hall, concentrating on AI smart energy, smart charging, and embodied AI directions to showcase full-scenario smart mobility and energy interconnection solutions for the future. Going forward, Chainway will continue deepening innovation in AI smart energy and embodied AI, enabling AI and power technology to connect more devices, more energy sources, and more scenarios. Read more

ZhenFund angel portfolio company StarDetect accelerates "Fuyao Plan" space compute Token operations

On September 11, StarDetect completed two consecutive funding rounds — A+ and A++ — totaling several hundred million RMB. The capital will focus on China's first cloud-edge collaborative space compute constellation, the "Fuyao Plan," including network construction, on-orbit AI technology iteration and upgrades, and on-orbit compute product system refinement.

The Fuyao constellation adopts a differentiated development path of "self-built core + ecosystem co-construction," with an overall plan of 303 self-developed core compute satellites, coordinated with approximately 3,000 industry ecosystem co-construction satellites, to build a distributed, highly elastic, and scalable space intelligent compute cluster. The "Fuyao Plan" will steadily advance phased milestones, with full constellation network completion and comprehensive Tokenized operations planned for 2035. Read more

ZhenFund angel portfolio company Chaitin receives two first-batch national AI security qualifications

On September 22, the 16th Vulnerability Analysis and Risk Assessment Conference (VARA2026) was held at Chongqing Science Hall. Chaitin received the "First Batch National Information Security Service Qualification (AI Security Class Level 1)." Only 6 organizations received this qualification in the first batch, with just 4 being security enterprises — Chaitin among them. Chaitin was also named a "First Batch National AI Security Vulnerability Database Technical Support Unit," and received annual outstanding technical support unit recognition. Read more

ZhenFund honored with Cyzone "Most Admired Early-Stage Investment Institutions TOP50" and other awards

On September 24, Cyzone released its "2026 Most Admired Venture Capital Institutions" rankings for the sixth consecutive year. ZhenFund was named to the "Most Admired Early-Stage Investment Institutions TOP50" and "AI Sector TOP60."

ZhenFund honored with 36Kr "China Embodied AI Industrial Investment Institutions TOP30" and other awards

On September 10, 36Kr released its 2026 "Industrial Investment" series rankings. ZhenFund was named to the "China Embodied AI Industrial Investment Institutions TOP30" and "China AI Industrial Investment Institutions TOP30." ZhenFund Managing Partner Yuan Liu was named to the "China AI Industrial Investors TOP30."

Multiple ZhenFund investors named to Xiaofanzhuo 2026 "Vision"人物榜单

On September 11, the International Entrepreneurship and Investment Cluster and Xiaofanzhuo jointly released the 2026 "Vision"人物榜单. ZhenFund Managing Partners Yusen Dai and Yuan Liu were named to the "Core New Force Investors TOP50"; Investment VP Yini Wang was named to the "Emerging New Generation Investors TOP50."

Text | Yanyang Editor | Cindy