The AI startup landscape is welcoming a new wave of builders. Recently, companies such as Weiliang Dianliang, Zhijian Dongli, and Beta Wuxian have successively disclosed new rounds of financing, with their businesses covering embodied intelligence, AI hardware, and core component sectors. Notably, the founding teams of these companies commonly have backgrounds in major tech firms, but their origins are becoming increasingly diverse—no longer limited to traditional internet giants like BAT. Instead, executives from a new generation of technology companies, such as leading hardware manufacturers like Xiaomi and DJI, as well as well-known new energy brands like Li Auto, are becoming the focus of attention for VC/PE investors.
Capital has responded swiftly and directly to these leaders emerging from new tech giants. It has been observed that some companies secured tens of millions of dollars in funding just two days after their establishment, while others achieved "unicorn" status after multiple financing rounds within six months. Some projects have even received checks from their founders' former employers. Rapid investment by venture capitalists and direct participation by corporate capital are becoming new benchmarks for measuring the heat of this entrepreneurial wave.
Recently, Zhijian Dongli announced that it completed five rounds of financing in nearly half a year, with a total funding amount reaching RMB 2 billion. The post-money valuation of its latest round has exceeded $1 billion, making it the youngest "unicorn" in the embodied intelligence field. The core team of this star startup hails from Li Auto. The CEO is Jia Peng, former head of intelligent driving technology R&D at Li Auto, while the chairman is Wang Kai, the company's former CTO.
Around the same time, Weiliang Dianliang, founded by former vivo star product manager Song Ziwei, also announced that it has secured joint backing from top-tier institutions such as Sequoia Capital China, Lanchi Ventures, and Ant Group’s strategic investment arm. As an early founding member of vivo's iQOO, Song Ziwei experienced the explosive growth of iQOO firsthand and has gained high recognition in the tech community.
The successive announcements from these two companies are just a microcosm of the wave of veterans from major tech firms starting businesses since the beginning of this year. It has been observed that since 2026, several funded startups have been founded by seasoned professionals from internet and hard tech giants. For example, after leaving Xiaomi, Wang Teng founded the sleep health technology brand Jinri Yixiu, which quickly secured tens of millions of yuan in seed funding. Cijian Wuxian, which completed a $10 million angel round just two days after its establishment, was founded by Qi Junyuan, who previously worked at ByteDance and was responsible for the Doubao PC product.
Notably, the entrepreneurial directions of these veterans show a high degree of convergence, focusing on cutting-edge technology sectors. From embodied intelligence and robotics to AI hardware and core components, and further to AI infrastructure, they are collectively betting on hardcore fields on the eve of technological breakthroughs. This reflects that executives who have experienced industry cycles generally recognize the development potential of these long-term, high-growth sectors and aim to secure key positions in the next technological wave by leveraging their technical expertise and industry insights.
Simultaneously, the background of entrepreneurs is undergoing a clear generational shift. In the past, BAT long dominated the talent pipeline in the internet sector. Today, hard tech giants like Xiaomi, DJI, and Li Auto have become new talent reservoirs. Most of these entrepreneurs have comprehensive experience in the entire process of smart hardware development, from R&D and mass production to supply chain management, which is precisely the core capability required for AI to transition from technology to the physical world.
Notably, the speed of financing is becoming a key metric for gauging the momentum of this wave of veteran entrepreneurship. Wang Teng's new company, JInri Yixiu, completed a seed round of tens of millions of yuan just 14 days after its establishment, with participation from institutions such as Gaorong Capital and Sky9 Capital. The financing speed of Qi Junyuan's Cijian Wuxian is even more remarkable—the company announced a $10 million angel round just two days after its founding, with investors including IDG Capital and AI large model company Jieyue Xingchen.
More notably, some startups have also received investment from their founders' former employers. According to media reports, Long Biao, former core R&D lead for E-bike at DJI, founded Chilong Dongli in October last year, focusing on the outdoor off-road sector. Tianyancha data shows that in February this year, DJI appeared on its list of investors.
An analysis of the investor composition of these companies reveals another clear trend: corporate capital is becoming a significant funding source. Beyond financial investment firms like Sequoia and Gaorong, an increasing number of investors with industrial backgrounds are entering the scene. For instance, Tencent and Alibaba jointly invested in Zhijian Dongli; Ant Group participated in funding Weiliang Dianliang; and Zhiyuan Robot and Xilinmen appeared on the shareholder list of Jinri Yixiu.
For corporate investors, investing in these startups is not solely about financial returns but also about exploring potential business synergies. While financial investors focus on return potential, corporate capital pays more attention to whether the invested companies can complement or support their own operations. The simultaneous participation of these two types of capital, each pursuing its own objectives, has to some extent accelerated the financing speed and scale of these startups.