The "Li Auto ecosystem" is batch-incubating unicorns, as automakers compete to become backstage investors.
"Recruit back those who left." When Li Xiang uttered this sentence during an all-hands meeting in January, outsiders thought he was launching a talent retention campaign. However, months later, his investment company funded Embodied AI company "Xieyue Intelligent," founded by former Chief AI Scientist Chen Wei and former Product Line President Zhang Xiao. Recruit back or invest out? These seemingly contradictory actions reveal Li Auto's deeper logic: talent from the "Li Auto ecosystem" is becoming a more valuable asset than the cars themselves.
Taking a broader view, it's clear that Xieyue Intelligent is just the latest scene in a wave of "Li Auto ecosystem" entrepreneurship. Zhijian Dynamics, co-founded by former Li Auto CTO Wang Kai and members of the intelligent driving team, completed five rounds of financing in just eight months, becoming the youngest unicorn in the Embodied AI track. Similarly, Kunlun Xing, founded by former Intelligent Driving Head Lang Xianpeng, secured three rounds of financing within 10 days of registration, also reaching unicorn status... A group of executives who left Li Auto are rapidly becoming darlings of the capital market.
This phenomenon has its internal logic. The R&D system accumulated by Li Auto over the years in AI and intelligent driving is now "spilling over" into the entire Embodied AI industry through talent mobility. Li Auto itself has chosen to maintain industrial ties with these former colleagues using capital as a link.
Simultaneously, SERES established an investment company, while SAIC, XPeng, NIO, and other automakers have successively entered the venture capital circle. A wave of venture capital热潮 led by automakers is accelerating. Perhaps, for leading automakers, car manufacturing is just the starting point, while laying out the technological ecosystem for the next era is the true endgame.
"Li Auto Ecosystem" Unicorns in Mass Production In the spring of 2026, the Embodied AI track is witnessing an unprecedented collective爆发 of "Li Auto ecosystem" companies. Xieyue Intelligent, an Embodied AI company founded in February 2026, completed its first funding round co-invested by Yuanjing Capital and Li Auto just two months after registration. The company's founder lineup is impressive: Chairman and CTO Chen Wei is Li Auto's former Chief AI Scientist and base model lead, while CEO Zhang Xiao is the former head of Li Auto's second product line and a core definer of the hit model Li L9's "refrigerator, TV, large sofa" product strategy. Qichacha data shows that after financing, Chen Wei holds 36.6643%, Zhang Xiao holds 24.0214%, and shareholders include Li Auto-affiliated "Chongqing Chezhiyuan Venture Capital Co., Ltd."
Xieyue Intelligent is not the first appearance of the Li Auto ecosystem in the Embodied AI track. Prior to this, Zhijian Dynamics, co-founded by former Li Auto autonomous driving executive Jia Peng, former CTO Wang Kai, and former intelligent driving mass production head Wang Jiajia, has refreshed industry perceptions with its astonishing financing speed. Founded in July 2025, the company completed five consecutive financing rounds in less than half a year, raising a total of RMB 2 billion, with a post-investment valuation exceeding USD 1 billion, rapidly growing into the youngest unicorn in the Embodied AI track. The list of investors behind Zhijian Dynamics reads like an "all-star lineup." Financial investors include prominent institutions like Yuanjing Capital, Lanchi Ventures, Sequoia China, Legend Capital, CAS Star, and Gaorong Capital. Strategic investors include internet giants Tencent and Alibaba Group.
Following closely is another, more symbolic figure. Lang Xianpeng, former President of Intelligent Driving and Senior Vice President at Li Auto, recently founded Embodied AI large model company Kunlun Xing. Notably, the company secured three rounds of financing within 10 days of registration, swiftly entering the unicorn ranks. Ten days, three rounds, unicorn. This speed is extremely rare in the history of Chinese venture capital. Lang Xianpeng was responsible for the strategic planning and execution of Li Auto's entire intelligent driving system; his judgment on the commercial path of embodied large models is naturally the kind of certainty capital is most willing to bet on.
Beyond these three companies, the wave of Li Auto ecosystem entrepreneurship is expanding. Why can these teams move so fast? Examining these companies reveals a commonality: in each Li Auto ecosystem team, the technical lead has deep experience in base model or algorithm development, while the product or execution lead has full experience in mass production delivery. This combination is a rare configuration in the Embodied AI startup circle. Many robotics startups either have strong technology but lack productization skills, or have product experience but lack underlying model capabilities; teams possessing both are exceedingly rare. Therefore, from a human capital perspective, the collective bets from top-tier VCs and major internet companies are not surprising.
A deeper reason lies in the industry timing. Currently, the Embodied AI track is entering an explosive period, with 2026 particularly seen as the first year of规模化 delivery for humanoid robots. Against this backdrop, capital is pouring in frenetically. In 2025, there were over 300 financing events in the Embodied AI track, with total funding exceeding RMB 40 billion. According to OFweek statistics, by Q1 2026, there were at least 14 Embodied AI unicorns with valuations of tens of billions. In such a window of capital and industry resonance, teams with real mass production experience have become the most sought-after scarce assets in the entire track. And Li Auto has恰好规模化 cultivated such talent over the past few years. As Li Auto CEO Li Xiang stated in response to recent executive departures during the March 12th evening 2025 earnings call, there have indeed been some new changes since the beginning of the year. Some excellent R&D management personnel, who experienced the journey from scratch with Li Auto and gained rich startup company experience, have recently left to start their own businesses and have received recognition from the investment market. He congratulated them, saying, "I hope every key Li Auto member who goes out to start their own business can perform better and better and become a main force in the market."
When direct investment from the former employer and industrial incubation from top VCs work simultaneously, the批量 emergence of Li Auto ecosystem unicorns is no mere coincidence.
Li Auto's Investment Landscape Li Auto's crossover into investing has a long history. First, one must understand Li Auto's investment vehicle. As mentioned, the entity through which Li Auto participated in the Xieyue Intelligent investment is its subsidiary, Chongqing Chezhiyuan Venture Capital Co., Ltd. This company was established in 2022 but has not been highly active. Qichacha data shows the company has only been involved in 6 investment events to date. Besides Xieyue Intelligent, it also participated in Qianjue Robotics' Pre-A round in 2025. However, its most notable action was investing RMB 400 million in Sunwoda in 2022. Beyond corporate investments, Chongqing Chezhiyuan Venture Capital has also invested in funds associated with MiraclePlus and Huaye Tiancheng.
However, Li Auto's布局 in the primary market did not begin with the establishment of Chongqing Chezhiyuan in 2022. Years ago, Li Auto, under its parent company Beijing Chehejia Information Technology Co., Ltd., began a long-term external investment布局. The most famous example is the unmanned delivery company Neolix. Data shows Li Auto participated in Neolix's angel round as early as 2018 and later led its Series A round in 2020. After the Series A, when asked about Li Auto's investment, Neolix's Yu Enyuan stated, "Li Xiang and I believe that autonomous driving is the most important efficiency tool for transforming the local living circle in the future... Li Auto is moving towards carrying people, we are moving towards carrying goods; we share the same vision."
Besides Neolix, Beijing Chehejia Information Technology also appears in the investor lists of companies like Cheyijia, Yihang Intelligent, and Liushen Optoelectronics.
Beyond the company itself, Li Xiang personally entered the core circle of Chinese venture capital as early as 2014 as an individual limited partner. Back in 2014, Cao Yi left Sequoia China to found Source Code Capital. At its inception, Li Xiang became one of its first LPs,堪称 an "original" LP of Source Code Capital. According to Cao Yi's recollection, "We raised the first fund in just one month. These LPs were met just once, some even just a phone call," including Li Xiang. Notably, the LP list behind Source Code Capital's first fund also included well-known entrepreneurs like Meituan founder Wang Xing and ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming.
Similarly, Li Xiang has a deep connection with Ming Shi Capital founder Huang Mingming. Huang Mingming built a strong relationship with Li Xiang during his Auto Home days. Years ago, Huang Mingming, together with Xue Manzi and Cai Wensheng, invested in Auto Home founded by Li Xiang and was also one of the first-round investors in Li Auto. When Huang Mingming founded Ming Shi Capital, Li Xiang again entrusted part of his funds to Huang Mingming, becoming an LP of Ming Shi Capital.
This virtuous cycle of "entrepreneurs funding VCs, VCs accompanying enterprise growth" saw a标志性验证 in May 2016 – when Chehejia (the predecessor of Li Auto) completed a Series A round of RMB 780 million, with follow-on investments from Source Code Capital, Ming Shi Capital, and other institutions. The VC institutions Li Xiang supported as an LP, in turn, became investors in his own startup. This two-way relationship laid the underlying logic for Li Auto's subsequent industrial investments.
Returning to Li Auto itself, the evolution of its investment landscape is格外清晰. It progressed from Li Xiang personally empowering top VCs like Source Code and Ming Shi as an LP, to Li Auto investing directly in industrial chain companies like Liushen Optoelectronics and Neolix under its parent company, to making heavy bets on battery maker Sunwoda, to establishing Chongqing Chezhiyuan Venture Capital to institutionalize industrial investment, and finally extending into the frontier track of Embodied AI. This path reflects a dual drive of "industrial capital + financial investment" and, more importantly, Li Auto's transformational ambition from a "car manufacturer" to a "technology ecosystem builder."
Automakers: Everyone is Crossing Over into Investment Li Auto's investment landscape is not an isolated case. Zooming out from Li Auto to the entire automotive industry reveals a clear trend – automakers entering the investment arena has shifted from an "elective course" for a few players to a "compulsory course" for the entire industry. Whether new automakers or traditional giants, domestic brands or multinational car companies, all are extending their reach into broader fields like mobility, energy, technology, and even robotics through capital means.
The latest scene occurred in early April, when a business registration change by SERES attracted market attention. Qichacha information showed that Chuangxin (Chongqing) Investment Co., Ltd. was officially registered with a capital of RMB 500 million. Its business scope listed only one item: venture investment (limited to investing in unlisted enterprises). Equity penetration reveals the company is wholly owned by SERES Group Co., Ltd.
SERES is not an isolated case. SAIC Group has also been active in industrial investment. As a typical practice of a Chinese manufacturing leader transitioning towards "new quality productive forces," SAIC's capital布局 has long transcended the boundaries of traditional financial investment. SAIC's official website data shows that since initiating strategic direct investments in 2021, it has累计 invested over RMB 18 billion, successfully promoting 24 portfolio companies to IPO. Particularly noteworthy is its extremely focused investment structure: in 2025's new investments, nearly 70% of funds were precisely allocated to "new quality productive forces" areas like AI, humanoid robots, and reusable high-end automotive manufacturing. This is not the short-term return-seeking game of conventional VCs, but rather a底层 asset restructuring by SAIC to win the "battle for supply chain sovereignty."
NIO has taken the fund route. NIO Capital, established in 2016, is a professional investment institution deeply rooted in industry, focusing on industrial变革 driven by technological and model innovations in decarbonization and digitalization. It primarily invests in new energy, automotive, and hard tech sectors. Its investments include CATL, Ronbay Technology, Tuhu Car Care, Didi Chuxing, Black Sesame Technologies, Pony.ai, Inceptio Technology, and Innovusion. As stated, "NIO Capital focuses on investments in mobility, energy, technology, etc., primarily around mobility transformation, smart industry, and smart living. NIO Capital possesses an excellent复合型 team and ecosystem resources, committed to providing full-lifecycle support for founders and innovative technology companies."
XPeng Motors is not far behind. Its founder He Xiaopeng is an LP behind知名 GPs like GGV Capital, 5Y Capital, and Kinzon Capital. Under He Xiaopeng's leadership, XPeng also formed its own market-oriented VC and, in 2022, acted as a cornerstone investor in the first USD fund of Xinghang Capital. As introduced, "Xinghang Capital is a professional private equity investment institution initiated and established with XPeng Motors as a cornerstone investor, focusing on startups in the intelligent EV产业链, climate tech, and frontier tech fields."
Of course, not all automakers' investment logic is identical, but they are driven by profound industrial logic. A recent KPMG China report, "Galloping Towards the Mountains and Seas – Outlook on Industry Impact of the '16th Five-Year Plan'," points out that active crossovers and ecosystem integration from the base of smart cars into frontier areas like robotics and low-altitude economy will become core new drivers of industrial growth. The report mentions that multiple industrial chains represented by smart cars, robotics, and low-altitude economy exhibit大量 "crossover" in technology, component supply, and application scenarios,催生出 "convergent intelligence" as a new industrial development direction.
Research results disclosed by the China EV100 show that upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the automotive产业链 can deeply connect with the smart robotics and low-altitude aircraft industrial chains, with over 60% of the automotive产业链 being usable by the smart robotics and low-altitude aircraft industries.
As analyzed in a recent Morgan Stanley report, the re-rating of Chinese auto stock valuations may require the incremental development of non-automotive businesses, such as embodied AI and humanoid robots, for which capital markets are willing to provide funding. This implies that automakers' investment布局 is no longer confined to vertical supply chain integration but is shifting towards横向卡位 of future technology ecosystems. From Li Auto's investments in Embodied AI, to SERES's venture capital subsidiary, to SAIC's industry-investment linkage, to the successive entries of XPeng and NIO.
What we are witnessing is a capital journey that began with the wheel, now steering towards a vaster intelligent starry sea.