- Chinese startups in micro-optics, physical AI, brain-computer interfaces and robotics secured fresh funding
- New capital injection will support product development, commercialization, global expansion and AI infrastructure
Machine tool startup TuoTuo bags nearly $30 million in Series B
Suzhou-based micro- and nano-optical equipment maker TuoTuo Technology (博格科技) has completed a Series B financing round of nearly 200 million yuan ($30 million), led by the Mother Machine Industry Fund, a 15-billion-yuan state-backed fund managed by Oriza Holdings. Suzhou Capital Group’s AI-focused industry fund and Infotech Ventures also participated.
Founded in 2021, TuoTuo Technology focuses on microfabrication and inspection, with products including 2D, 2.5D and 3D direct-write lithography systems and 3D microscopes.
The company operates three subsidiaries, giving it an integrated business covering equipment, core modules and key materials. This structure allows it to connect technologies across the micro- and nano-optics value chain.
The latest funding will be used primarily for technology R&D, product upgrades and market expansion.
DeepCtrls secures ropes in Aramco in Series B+ to scale physical AI
Nanjing-based physical AI company DeepCtrls (深度智控) has completed a Series B+ financing round worth hundreds of millions of yuan, led by battery giant CATL. Aramco Ventures, Taiping Innovation Ventures, GF Xinde Investment and Fosun Capital also participated.
Existing investors Source Code Capital and Forebright Capital also increased their stakes.
Founded in 2018, DeepCtrls has developed its proprietary PhyAI physical AI engine, which combines physics-based models with AI algorithms.
The system is designed to understand the operating principles of industrial equipment and use that understanding for prediction, optimization and closed-loop control.
The company has served hundreds of major customers, including TSMC, CATL, Tencent and Li Auto. Its revenue has doubled year-on-year for the past two years, while the company has also reached profitability.
Following the latest financing, DeepCtrls plans to further develop its physical AI engine, scale up commercial deployments and expand into new areas including coordinated power and computing.
GenLight Medical completes consecutive Series C and D rounds
Hangzhou-based brain-computer interface company GenLight Medical (佳量脑科学) has completed both Series C and Series D financing rounds in succession, raising several hundred million yuan in total.
The Series C was led by Qiming Venture Partners, with existing investors Yuhang State Investment and CD Capital participating.
The Series D attracted Cybernaut, Shanghai Kuanqiao Hengsong Equity Fund, Ningbo state-backed investors and other institutions.
Founded in 2020, GenLight has developed an integrated technology platform combining smart hardware, multimodal data and AI foundation models.
Its product pipeline covers neurological conditions including epilepsy, brain tumors and Parkinson’s disease. Four of its products have received China’s Class III medical-device registration certificates, the country’s highest-risk medical-device category.
The latest financing will support commercialization of its core products, overseas regulatory registrations and global clinical collaborations.
Tsing-AI secures funding to advance construction-machine robotics
Shanghai-based intelligent construction-machinery company Tsing-AI (紫创智械) has raised tens of millions of yuan from Addor Capital and an undisclosed leading industrial investor.
Founded in 2025, the company has developed what it describes as China’s first specialized foundation model for construction-machinery operations.
It is building an end-to-end embodied-AI architecture combining a “brain” system for high-level decision-making with a “cerebellum” system for real-time control.
The latest financing will be used to further develop embodied AI for construction equipment and accelerate the development and deployment of intelligent loaders, excavators and other machinery.
Tsing-AI has established a strategic partnership with XCMG (徐工集团), one of China’s largest construction-equipment manufacturers, to jointly develop and commercialize intelligent loaders, excavators and related products.
WorldMind closes angel funding, bets big on world models
Shanghai-based world-model startup WorldMind (寰宇心生) has completed an angel financing round worth tens of millions of yuan, with Yuanbio Venture Capital as the sole investor.
Founded in September 2026, the company is led by Ren Yunfan, a 1999-born doctoral supervisor and tenure-track associate professor at Tongji University who previously worked as a core algorithm researcher in DJI’s advanced research team.
The new funding will primarily support team building and expansion, as well as infrastructure and foundation-model training.
WorldMind has proposed a “small world” approach to building world models. It has developed a memory-enhanced world model and a brain-inspired world action model, and says its system ranked first in the WorldArena benchmark.
The company is positioning these technologies as a foundation for AI systems capable of understanding and acting within dynamic environments.
