Autumn in Full Swing | Z News

Moonshot AI Releases Kimi K3.1 Pro

On October 24, Moonshot AI released Kimi K3.1 Pro, supporting a 1-million-token context window with focused improvements in coding, 3D creation, financial research, and long-horizon agent capabilities. The model can invoke professional tools including Unity, Blender, and CAD to complete game development and parametric modeling. According to official benchmarks, it achieved 65.7% on the programming agent benchmark Terminal-Bench 4.0. A simultaneous Highspeed release maintains equivalent intelligence with roughly 2-3x the output speed of the standard version. Read more

Genspark Releases VoicePad

On October 29, Genspark released its desktop AI voice device, SecondBrain VoicePad. The product features five customizable buttons for meeting notes, scheduling, presentations, AI workspace, and voice input. Users press and speak to input text across chat, email, documents, or coding assistants; paired with Genspark, they can also voice-initiate tasks for creating presentations, spreadsheets, documents, and websites. Experience VoicePad: https://shop.genspark.ai/pages/voicepad

Xinxin Hangtu Releases X7 Ultra

On October 29, Xinxin Hangtu launched its large-model autonomous driving chip X7 Ultra in Suzhou. The chip employs an extra-large-core NPU architecture designed for large models, improving compute and data flow efficiency through hardware-AI toolchain co-design. Under mass-production autonomous driving model test conditions, it delivers 700 TOPS of large-model compute with 98.7% NPU utilization; compared to industry flagship products, memory bandwidth consumption drops 80%, and inference energy efficiency doubles under equivalent large-model performance. Through architecture-toolchain co-design, supported model parameter scale increases 10x. The X7 series has shipped over 200,000 units, is deployed in 10 mass-production vehicle models, and has secured orders for over 40 models. Read more

Weilai Buyuan Releases Self-Evolving WAM

This month, Weilai Buyuan released its Self-Evolving World Action Model (Self-Evolving WAM), enabling robots to accumulate experience from real-world operations and adjust subsequent learning based on training outcomes. Across recorded attempts from round 0 to round 30, autonomous completion rates improved from 54.6% to 96.8% for folding clothes, 46.2% to 91.2% for hanging laundry, 42.7% to 89.5% for making pasta, and 38.2% to 68.9% for stir-fried pork with peppers. Read more

Mindverse and Deep Principle Collaborate to Release Scientific Model Hydrogen-1.0

On November 3, Deep Principle introduced the open-source scientific model Hydrogen-1.0. Mindverse Mind Lab, as a collaborator, worked with Deep Principle to complete post-training based on the GLM-5.3 foundation using Mint Recursive. Hydrogen-1.0 achieved a 38.3% problem-solving success rate on the scientific reasoning benchmark FrontierScience-Research, an improvement of 13.9 percentage points over the base model. Read more

ZhenFund Early-Stage Portfolio Company XtalPi Participates in NDRC Private Enterprise Symposium

On October 10, Zheng Shanjie, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), chaired a private enterprise symposium attended by executives from XtalPi and other companies, who offered suggestions on Q3 economic conditions, international supply and demand shifts, and enterprise development. NDRC Vice Chairman Shen Zhulin, National Energy Administration Deputy Director Wang Jianbo, and principal responsible officials from the NDRC General Office, Comprehensive Department, Private Economy Bureau, and Industry Department attended. Read more

Multiple ZhenFund Portfolio Companies Recognized as National-Level Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative "Little Giant" Enterprises

Recently, ZhenFund angel portfolio company CrossWe and early-stage portfolio company Xingji were officially designated as national-level specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative "Little Giant" enterprises. CrossWe focuses on physical AI and Embodied Artificial Intelligence, becoming the first enterprise in the physical AI and world model domain to receive this recognition; Xingji specializes in digital chip design software EDA technology, and was previously recognized as a Jiangsu Province specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SME. The "Little Giant" designation represents the pinnacle of China's quality SME tiered cultivation system, representing the state's highest recognition of innovation strength and industrial value, with an approximate 20% approval rate for national applications over the past three years.

ZhenFund Angel Portfolio Company Mobvoi's TicNote Pods Wins Two International Design Awards

Recently, Mobvoi's TicNote Pods AI recording earphones received the 2026 GOOD DESIGN AWARD (Japan) and the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). The product combines wireless earphones, 4G connectivity, and AI processing, transforming sound from mere recording into retrievable, usable information. Designed for meeting notes and cross-lingual communication scenarios, it syncs to cloud without phone dependency, uploading one hour of audio in 30 seconds, after which AI completes transcription, summarization, and search. Read more

ZhenFund Early-Stage Portfolio Company Flexiv Appears at IROS 2026

From September 28 to October 1 local time, the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2026) was held in Pittsburgh, United States. Flexiv exhibited its adaptive robots and multi-form robot platforms, demonstrating dual-arm teleoperation, Enlight, MICO dual-arm precision assembly, and the AICO2 dual-arm mobile platform, showcasing innovative applications of force sensing and control capabilities in complex manipulation, Embodied Artificial Intelligence, and scientific research. During the conference, Flexiv Co-founder and CTO Ye Xiyang delivered a keynote speech sharing practical applications of robot force control technology in real-world scenarios. Read more

Multiple ZhenFund Portfolio Companies Appear at China International Industry Fair

From October 12-16, the 26th China International Industry Fair was held in Shanghai. ZhenFund early-stage portfolio company Flexiv showcased 40 robotic arms and 28 on-site applications, demonstrating its general-purpose robot foundation across various industry scenarios; ZhenFund early-stage portfolio company MetaX exhibited its full-stack GPU product matrix and industrial ecosystem achievements at the Integrated Circuit Exhibition (National Chip Exhibition), with its Xisuo X302 scientific intelligence GPU winning the 2026 National Chip Exhibition Innovation Achievement Award; ZhenFund angel portfolio company Horizon Robotics received the CIIF Grand Prize for its Horizon Starry® cabin-driving fusion vehicle intelligence chip and Horizon KKClaw™ vehicle intelligence operating system. The CIIF Grand Prize is known as the "Oscars" of Chinese industry, representing one of the most prestigious authoritative certifications in domestic industrial technology.

ZhenFund Angel Portfolio Company Mark's Mark II Selected for TIME 2026 Best Inventions

On October 15, the intelligent reading device Mark II was selected for TIME magazine's 2026 Best Inventions list. It combines bookmarking, text excerpting, and voice recording — users swipe across text on a page to save content to the companion app, and can record their thoughts at any time. The product supports text and handwriting recognition on both paper and screens, with note organization, search, and review functions.

Multiple ZhenFund Portfolio Founders Selected for "2026 Forbes China 100 Most Influential Overseas Chinese Elites"

On October 26, Forbes China announced the results of its "2026 Forbes China 100 Most Influential Overseas Chinese Elites" selection. Moonshot AI Founder and CEO Zhilin Yang was selected in the "Industry Reshapers" category; Flexiv Co-founder and CEO Shiquan Wang and Black Lake Founder and CEO Polo were selected in the "Value Creators" category. Now in its sixth year, this selection focuses on the influence of Chinese elites in global business, technology, and culture.

ZhenFund Angel Portfolio Company Luchen Tech Selected for 2026 AI Going Global Future Unicorn Top 100

Recently, the "2026 AI Going Global Future Unicorn Top 100" list was released during the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo. Luchen Tech was selected based on its technical foundation in AI infrastructure and compute platforms, along with its overseas deployment practices. Continuing from 2025's focus on AI companies going global, this year's list further examines the match between domestic AI industry supply and Southeast Asian localized application demand, providing a reference for enterprises, investment institutions, and overseas partners. Read more

Multiple ZhenFund Portfolio Companies Selected for AI Cloud 100 China List

On October 16, the 2026 AI Cloud 100 China list was officially announced. ZhenFund angel portfolio company DataGrand was selected for the fifth consecutive year based on its sustained innovation and outstanding implementation in artificial intelligence. ZhenFund angel portfolio company Luchen Tech was selected for its technical accumulation in AI compute platforms, large-model distributed training, and inference. The list focuses on Chinese AI companies' technological innovation, product capabilities, and industrial applications. This year's list includes 52 new entrants, representing 52% new faces, with over 60% from the physical AI track.

ZhenFund Early-Stage Portfolio Company Moffett AI Wins 2026 Hurun China AI Technology Leap Newcomer Award

On October 29, at the 2026 Hurun Rich List 27th Anniversary Celebration, Moffett AI received the "2026 Hurun China AI Technology Leap Newcomer Award" for its exploration in sparse computing. Moffett Founder and CEO Billy was invited to share his reflections on the journey of domestic AI chips from technology validation to scaled commercial delivery. This honor represents authoritative recognition of Moffett's technical innovation capabilities and confirms the broad industrial value of sparse computing as a new generation of efficient computing. Read more

ZhenFund Angel Portfolio Company Hyde Hydrogen Energy Releases 600MW Green Hydrogen Flagship Project Operating Results

On October 19, Hyde Hydrogen Energy officially released the phased operating results of its 600MW green hydrogen flagship project, simultaneously launching its physical AI industrial-grade operations solution and the new HydoLyser® X2000 square electrolysis hydrogen production product. By year-end, this project will become the world's largest operating green hydrogen project, with the first hydrogen production plants already achieving stable operation at Xing'an League's world's largest green methanol project. Hyde Hydrogen Energy connects global green fuel and industrial energy markets through advanced square electrolysis technology, ultra-large-scale industrial engineering, and intelligent operations, moving energy from extraction to manufacturing. Read more

Text | Yanyang Editor | Cindy