- The region’s startups in nuclear energy, robotics, biomaterials and energy AI have secured fresh funding
- Investors are backing SMR development, humanoid robot components, bio-based chemical production and satellite-powered weather forecasting
Weilan Nuenergy raises 200 million yuan in pre-Series A+ round
Shanghai-based small modular reactor (SMR) developer Weilan Nuenergy (蔚蓝支点) has raised 200 million yuan ($29.9 million) in a pre-Series A+ round co-led by Sky9 Capital and Geely Capital.
Orient Renaissance Capital, C Capital and Minhang Financial Investment also participated. Existing investors Luminous Ventures and CDH Investments increased their holdings with additional investments.
The deal marks Weilan Nuenergy’s fourth funding round in nine months, bringing its total funding to nearly 500 million yuan.
Founded in 2025, the company focuses on water-cooled SMR technology. Its founder, Hu Po (胡珀), graduated from Tsinghua University with a degree in nuclear engineering.
More than 10 senior technical experts with chief-engineer-level experience have joined the company as a full-time team, covering key subsystems including reactor-core design, the nuclear island and fuel.
The new capital will support product development and commercialization, with initial applications targeting zero-carbon sectors such as power supply for computing centers and industrial energy.
Sankai Mechanical nets hundreds of millions of yuan in Series B
Taizhou, Zhejiang-based precision transmission company Sankai Mechanical (三凯机电) has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in a Series B equity round co-led by the National Industrial Mother Machine Industry Investment Fund and Wuchan Zhongda Group. Caitong Securities and Wenling Haihe Rongzhi also participated.
The company previously raised more than 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) in a Series A round led by Fortune Capital late last year.
Founded in 2007, Sankai Mechanical was among China’s early manufacturers to independently develop and mass-produce precision planetary gear reducers.
Its products are used in humanoid robots, CNC machine tools, automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots, as well as the solar and lithium battery industries.
Its planetary joint reducers have been deployed in Tiangong 3.0, a humanoid robot developed by the Beijing-based X-Humanoid (北京人形机器人创新中心). The company says it has consistently ranked among China’s top three players by market share.
The latest funding will support further development of joint reducers and integrated drive systems for humanoid robots, alongside expanded production capacity for precision reducers.
Sierac Tech bags hundreds of millions of yuan in Series A1
Sierac Tech (赛瑞克), a Taixing-based biomaterials company in Jiangsu Province, has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in a Series A1 round. Investors include Puhua Capital, Acorn Fund, Jinshuihu Fund and Asia Green Fund.
Founded in 2020, Sierac Tech develops and commercializes 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a bio-based platform chemical that can replace petroleum-derived purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in applications including packaging, textiles and new energy.
The company has developed what it describes as the world’s first FDCA production route that converts glucose into the chemical through glucaric acid.
Its product currently reaches a purity of 99.997%, and the company says its batch-to-batch consistency is industry-leading.
The funding will go toward building a flagship FDCA plant in Jiande, Zhejiang, with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons. The project aims to take the production route from technical validation to commercial-scale manufacturing.
Tianxu AI secures tens of millions of yuan in pre-Series A+ round
Jiaxing-based energy and meteorological AI company Tianxu AI (天序智能) has raised tens of millions of yuan in a pre-Series A+ round, with Houxue Capital as its sole investor.
Founded in October 2024, the company is led by Liu Li (刘栗), a meteorology PhD graduate of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
It is among a small group of Chinese startups to have deployed a large AI model on a satellite. Its meteorological model was launched into orbit in July 2026 and has since completed daily validation, according to the company.
Tianxu AI says it has established a three-tier business model spanning data sales, a software-as-a-service platform and private deployments.
Its customers include State Grid, China Southern Power Grid and several major state-owned power-generation groups.
The new funding will support the development of its Ningkong Constellation, upgrades to its domain-specific world model and preparations for overseas expansion.
The company plans eventually to deploy an 18-satellite network designed to provide global observations of wind, solar radiation, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure at a spatial resolution of 1 kilometer and a revisit interval of one hour.
