- AI and quantum startups attracted fresh capital, spanning brain-computer interfaces, materials discovery and next-generation computing
- Recent rounds also fueled embodied robotics, quantum computing, heavy-duty robots and real-time 4D world models
BCI startup Gestala raises $62 million in Angel+ financing round
Shanghai-based ultrasonic brain-computer interface company Gestala (格式塔科技) has raised 420 million yuan ($62 million) in an Angel+ round led by Meridian Capital, with participation from C Capital, HongShan, Lens Technology, CETC Health Fund, Sinovation Ventures, Lingang LKC Investment, Furong Capital and GoldTech Venture Capital.
The round comes six months after Gestala raised 150 million yuan in an angel round, bringing its total funding to 570 million yuan across two major rounds this year.
Existing investors including Dalton Venture, Seas Capital, Tsing Song Capital and Gobi Partners also increased their stakes.
Founded in January 2026 by serial entrepreneur Peng Lei (彭雷), who holds a PhD in neuroscience from Fudan University, Gestala is focused on developing non-invasive ultrasonic brain-computer interfaces.
The company has established a dual-headquarters structure, with Chengdu serving as its global R&D and manufacturing base and Shanghai as its NeuroAI innovation center focused on brain foundation models.
MatSource bags $30 million across two angel rounds to scale new materials
Suzhou-based AI and new materials company MatSource (科源图科技) has completed two angel rounds worth more than 100 million yuan ($15 million) each within roughly three months.
The earlier round included SND Group, Silicon Harbour Capital, Hefei Yuanchu Luhao and Shanghai Yuangu, with existing investors Yihe Capital and Fresh Capital also participating.
The latest round was led by Matrix Partners China, with Suzhou Capital Group and existing investors CAS Star and Silicon Harbour Capital joining.
Founded in April 2025, MatSource is led by founder and chief scientist Li Hao (李昊), a tenured professor at Japan’s Tohoku University and one of the youngest Chinese recipients of Japan’s Distinguished Professor title.
The company has built an end-to-end R&D platform spanning data, physics-based models, AI agents and automated experiments.
It has assembled a real-world materials database containing millions of entries, developed more than 200 proprietary materials-prediction models, and launched what it describes as the world’s first AI-agent-driven high-throughput automated platform for inorganic solid-phase and solid-liquid-phase synthesis.
Robot startup Five Ages nets over $150 million across Series A1, A2 rounds
Hangzhou-based embodied AI company Five Ages (中科第五纪) has completed Series A1 and A2 rounds totaling more than 1 billion yuan ($150 million).
The Series A1 round was backed by NSFocus, a Bank of China-affiliated AIC fund and Triplex Investment. The Series A2 round was jointly funded by KHK Fund, the Bank of China-affiliated AIC fund, Zhongshan Investment, Horizon Investment, Beyondsoft and Zhejiang’s New Energy Vehicle Fund.
Founded in 2024, Five Ages draws its core R&D team from Professor Sun Fuchun (孙富春)’s robotics laboratory at Tsinghua University and the Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The company is developing general-purpose embodied AI robots, with products including embodied workstations for smart factories and general-purpose humanoid robots.
MatriQ closes Series A+ funding to bet on quantum computing
Hangzhou-based neutral-atom quantum computing company MatriQ (原子矩阵) has raised several hundred million yuan in a Series A+ round backed by YF Capital, 37 Interactive Entertainment, Puhua Capital, Caitong Capital, SSENC, Tang Xing Capital, Brill Capital, Vinno Capital and HaiBang Venture, with existing investor CMBC International also participating.
The company has completed four funding rounds in roughly one year since launching its first financing in the second half of 2025, bringing cumulative funding to nearly 1 billion yuan.
MatriQ has developed in-house capabilities spanning laser cooling, optical tweezer arrays, defect-free atom rearrangement and quantum error correction.
It can build and operate defect-free arrays of up to 2,310 physical qubits and is the only neutral-atom quantum computing company in China with the ability to deliver quantum computing systems at the 1,000-plus-qubit scale, according to the company.
Robot firm CablebotX raises tens of millions of yuan in Series A
Nanjing-based heavy-duty industrial robotics company CablebotX (线控机器人) has raised tens of millions of yuan in a Series A round, with the deal signed at the 2026 Zijin Mountain International Science and Technology Innovation Fund Street Ecosystem Conference.
The company develops heavy-load industrial robots based on an innovative cable-driven architecture.
Its CR-certified products can handle payloads of up to 5 tons, with laboratory tests reaching 20 tons, while offering a working area of more than 1,000 square meters per unit.
The robots are designed for tasks including high-altitude handling and lifting of multi-ton industrial components. The company expects its order volume to double this year.
World Model developer Kokoni secures $74 million in fresh funding round
Hangzhou-based 4D world-model developer Kokoni (魔芯科技) has raised 500 million yuan ($74 million) in a new funding round, bringing its total funding to nearly 1 billion yuan across four rounds in the past eight months.
Investors include state-backed institutions such as Shenzhen Capital Group and ZJVC, as well as corporate investors including Huawei Habo Capital, Legend Holdings, Fulhan, Jinko Solar and China Fortune-Tech Capital, alongside several technology-focused financial investors.
In July, Kokoni released MoWorld, a real-time interactive 4D world model with around 14 billion parameters that runs at up to 50 frames per second on Huawei Ascend NPU supernodes.
The company says its inference costs are about 70% lower than those of comparable GPU-based solutions.
MoWorld has been deployed in embodied AI training, industrial digital twins and automotive production-line upgrades. Kokoni has also launched another funding round, which is expected to close shortly.
