- Yangtze River Delta startups in brain-computer interfaces, physical AI and brain-inspired computing raised fresh funding
- New capital injections will support clinical research, robot foundation models and Physical AI commercialization
BCI-Sonics raises nearly $30 million in pre-Series A funding
Shanghai-based non-invasive brain-computer interface company BCI-Sonics (华超神控) has raised 200 million yuan ($30 million) in a pre-Series A round jointly led by HongShan and Yunqi Venture Partners.
Proxima Capital, Oriza Holdings, Xuhui Science & Tech Innovation Fund and Moral Stone Investment also participated, while existing investors Matrix Partners China and Delian Capital continued to invest.
Founded in 2025, the company focuses on ultrasonic neuromodulation, multimodal brain decoding and AI neural decoding.
Its two generations of FUS-BCI products have completed development and obtained safety reports. Its closed-loop ultrasonic BCI system is scheduled to enter clinical trials in the first quarter of 2027.
The new funding will be used for product development, recruitment of key talent, clinical research and AI infrastructure.
Embodied robotics startup ZenoAI closes seed funding
Hangzhou-based physical intelligence company ZenoAI (芝诺机器人) has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in seed funding from Sunny Optical Technology, MetaX, an Insigma venture fund, SIE Industrial Fund and CTC Capital.
Founded in 2025, the company focuses on foundation models and has launched Zeno-1, a 3-billion-parameter collaborative intelligence model.
Using a decentralized architecture, Zeno-1 allows robots to make decisions based on visual inputs and interaction history without a central controller.
It supports adaptation across scenarios, tasks and robot bodies, and has been validated on physical robots running continuously for more than 10 minutes while completing eight subtasks.
The company has also begun proof-of-concept testing in Australia, New Zealand and other overseas markets.
Brain-inspired computing firm Cogleap.AI secures pre-Series A financing
Wuxi-based brain-inspired intelligence company Cogleap.AI (知跃空间智能) has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in a Pre-A round, with participation from a US-dollar fund, a list company and numerous existing shareholders. The investors were not disclosed.
The company focuses on fine-grained dendritic computing inspired by biological brain neurons and has developed its DeepSoma whole-brain simulation foundation platform, building capabilities spanning whole-brain dynamics and a closed-loop Brain-Body-Environment system.
Cogleap.AI is accelerating the commercialization of these technologies in Physical AI applications including specialized robots, industrial robots and drones.
It has established strategic partnerships with several leading Chinese and international robotics companies and domestic chipmakers, and is also involved in industry standards and industrial mapping initiatives with organizations including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
