36Kr Exclusive | HSG and Mingshi Capital Invest Millions of US Dollars in a Remote Imaging Hardware Company, with the Founder Being the Former Product Head of Hikvision's Ezviz

Author | Zhang Ziyi

Editor | Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that the technological innovation team "Dalan Technology", which focuses on long - distance imaging scenarios, completed both the angel round and Pre - A round of financing within a month, with a total financing amount of tens of millions of US dollars.

The financing was led by Sequoia China and Ming Shi Venture Capital, and the old shareholder Jiacheng Capital continued to follow - up invest. The financing funds will be mainly used for core product R & D, supply chain, and organizational construction. Currently, Dalan's core product has entered a crucial stage for mass production and is continuously attracting key talents in imaging algorithms, software and hardware development, and marketing.

Behind the capital's investment is the huge consumer potential shown by long - distance imaging. The vivo X300 Ultra, which vivo unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2026) not long ago, with its external super - telephoto extender, has sparked a lot of discussions. Other mobile phone manufacturers have also jointly focused on long - distance photography.

In fact, long - distance imaging is by no means a single niche interest circle. On one hand, it is connected to the consumption of tens of millions of mature outdoor optical and telephoto lenses every year. On the other hand, it covers a large number of real scenarios where "the distance is long, the pace is fast, and the events cannot be repeated". Data shows that there are 300 million wildlife enthusiasts, 1 billion sports and sports event enthusiasts globally, and the number of concert - goers, hunters, and stargazers also reaches hundreds of millions. Whether it's going to Africa to watch wild animals or sitting in the "nosebleed seats" at a concert to experience the thrill of close - up star - chasing, these are extremely real and rigid demands.

Facing the current situation where most telephoto imaging products are dominated by century - old Japanese optical giants, "Dalan Technology" has chosen a path of "differentiated competition" to break through in the domestic high - end market.

Traditional giants are good at concentrating top - level optical capabilities on heavy and huge lenses within the existing professional system, setting an extremely high threshold for professional telephoto. Traditional "big guns" are expensive, heavy, and have a high operation threshold. Dalan's solution relies on innovative software and hardware algorithms and system - level design. The team has achieved the goal of compressing professional - level telephoto effects into a small package without relying on large - aperture optical lenses, making telephoto shooting an everyday action that ordinary people can easily do. Behind this idea, besides technological breakthroughs, it is also a shift in product definition - from "professional equipment" to "consumer products".

"We didn't start from 'creating a new camera category' at first, but from solving specific scenario problems," Sun Zhe, the founder of Dalan Technology, told Yingke. Sun Zhe himself is also a natural history enthusiast. In his previous entrepreneurial experience, his team developed a consumer imaging product for bird - watching scenarios, with an annual shipment of millions of units and a terminal price of about $200. This experience made him realize early on that as long as a specific need is truly met, a seemingly niche scenario can also develop a considerable market.

Facing the current situation where mobile phone manufacturers are fiercely competing in telephoto capabilities, Sun Zhe believes that from the underlying product logic, as a high - frequency and general - purpose device, mobile phones are naturally unable to achieve extreme optical optimization for long - distance imaging. The compromised external lens solution not only makes daily activities like replying to WeChat messages and watching videos extremely cumbersome but also makes it difficult to balance image quality, stability, and usage efficiency. "Long - distance imaging requires an integrated product originally designed for telephoto scenarios. What we want to do is to turn telephoto from a professional toy for a few people into a daily ability that more people can use at will."

Currently, Dalan Technology's core product has entered a crucial stage for mass production. At the 2026 CES, the product won the official "Best of Show Media Award" for its breakthrough innovative experience and attracted the attention and interviews of leading technology media such as Forbes, TechRadar, and PCMag.

Regarding the team, founder Sun Zhe has been deeply involved in the imaging industry for many years. He was once the product director of Hikvision's Ezviz, building high - end intelligent imaging products from scratch and achieving annual sales of over 1 billion yuan. Later, he joined Jijia Technology as the product director and launched imaging products with tens of millions of shipments. Other core members come from leading intelligent hardware companies such as Huawei, DJI, and vivo, and have educational backgrounds from well - known institutions like Harvard, the University of Hong Kong, and the University of Science and Technology of China. They have rich experience in the R & D of software and hardware for intelligent imaging and market expansion.