Yushi Space completed a Series A financing of 500 million yuan. It plans to deliver three rockets this year, and the cumulative financing has reached 1 billion yuan | Exclusive from 36Kr
Text | Azhi
36Kr has learned that Yushi Space has completed a Series A financing of 500 million yuan, co-led by Gaorong Venture Capital and Kunlun Capital. Jianfa Emerging, Blue Lake Capital, Honghui Fund, Orient Securities Capital, Zhentai Capital, and Gengxin Capital participated in the follow-on investment. Industrial shareholders including Zijin Mining, well - known Internet strategic investors, and smart terminal industry players jointly invested. Old shareholders such as Hillhouse Venture Capital, Cornerstone Capital, Qiancheng Capital, and Zhisheng Ruiying have continuously participated in multiple rounds of follow - on investments.
The funds from this round will be mainly used for rocket final assembly and testing, verification of chopstick recovery technology, rocket production capacity construction, and team building, providing support for the first flight of Yushi Space's AS - 1 rocket and subsequent large - scale operations.
Yushi Space is an enterprise that we have been following for a long time. It focuses on the development of large - capacity, low - cost, and rapidly reusable liquid rockets. In the past year, the company has completed 4 rounds of financing in a row. With the recently completed Series A financing, its cumulative financing amount has reached 1 billion yuan.
Rocket manufacturing and launch services, as the core part of the commercial space industry chain, have always been the focus of capital investment. Reusable rockets, as the most competitive direction in this field, can greatly reduce the cost of single launches and increase the launch density. This is not only an inevitable way to achieve the goal of large - scale satellite networking in China but also an important prerequisite for the economic feasibility of future commercial application scenarios such as space computing power, space photovoltaics, and space tourism.
Overall, domestic recoverable and reusable rockets are in a critical breakthrough period of transitioning from experimental verification to engineering application. Although regular recovery and reuse have not been achieved yet, the technical routes are converging. Since 2026, new rockets of first - tier enterprises have had their first flights intensively and are striving for recovery verification. Start - up companies have no path dependence, high innovation, and greater organizational flexibility. They are expected to reshape the cost structure of the entire industry through a systematic low - cost approach.
As the only domestic commercial rocket company currently adopting the "stainless - steel rocket body + liquid oxygen methane power + chopstick capture arm recovery" solution, Yushi Space's first 70 - meter - class reusable stainless - steel liquid launch vehicle, the AS - 1, was officially delivered in January this year. As a low - cost two - stage medium - sized liquid rocket, the AS - 1 has a take - off weight of about 570 tons, a rocket body diameter of 4.2 meters, a one - time LEO orbit carrying capacity of 15.7 tons, and a reusable LEO orbit carrying capacity of 10 tons. In the future, it will mainly target the low - and medium - orbit payload launch market.
In order to further reduce the rocket manufacturing cost, Yushi Space chose to innovate from the bottom of the material system, introduced an industrial production system, and adopted the stainless - steel solution.
Tang Wen, the founder and CEO of Yushi Space, mentioned, "Compared with aluminum alloy, stainless steel has many advantages. The commonly worried drawback is that stainless steel is heavier. We need to solve this problem through the ultimate optimization design of the structure and more precise welding technology. In the current product R & D process, we have achieved that the weight of the stainless - steel rocket body structure is basically the same as that of the aluminum - alloy rocket structure."
In fact, as the earliest domestic team to use stainless - steel rocket bodies, Yushi Space independently cultivated the supply chain system of stainless - steel rocket bodies from scratch. At present, the team has achieved a closed - loop design of stainless - steel from the material level, component level, tank level to the whole - rocket level. It is reported that the cost of the self - developed stainless - steel rocket body of Yushi Space is only one - tenth of that of the aluminum - alloy rocket body, and the production efficiency has been increased several times. The fastest delivery time is only one month.
The bottom - level material innovation is the first step. To transform rockets from handicrafts into industrial products, large - scale production capacity support is also needed. Tang Wen mentioned that Yushi Space has currently laid out a production base with an annual production capacity of 8 rockets in Hunan. "In the future, we will further expand the production capacity. Through the scale effect brought by the production capacity, we will continuously reduce the rocket cost."
In terms of production capacity construction, the latest progress we learned is that Yushi Space has expanded its strategic layout again on the basis of the previous "one center and two bases" strategy.
The area of the R & D center in Beijing has been expanded to over 4,000 square meters. The newly put - into - operation electrical comprehensive test center provides key support for the verification of the rocket electrical system. The rocket development and final assembly base in Hunan has been partially put into production and is expected to be officially delivered in the third quarter of 2026. After reaching full production, it will have the capacity to produce 8 rockets per year. The construction of the avionics center and the ground joint test base for the capture arm has been started simultaneously. Next, the full - chain layout from design, manufacturing, test verification to in - orbit delivery, recovery, and reuse will be further improved.
This year, Yushi Space plans to produce three rockets. The team size is expected to expand to about 350 people (currently about 200 people) to ensure the smooth progress of the first - flight mission in the first half of next year and reserve core strength for subsequent large - scale operations.
"I think that in China today, the problem regarding rocket carrying capacity is no longer whether we can build rockets, but whether we can build them cheaply. I believe in China's late - mover advantage in the commercial space field. Infrastructure construction ability has never been a problem for China." In Tang Wen's view, in the future, rockets will become larger, the industrial manufacturing cost of rockets will become lower, and the turnover speed of rockets will become faster.
When the above factors are fully equipped and the supply capacity of reusable rockets is further improved, rocket carrying capacity will become infrastructure, giving rise to larger service scenarios and service scales.
Tang Wen believes that the space economy is not used to solve the existing needs in the current stock market. It is more about creating new supplies and new demands. "When the rocket cost crosses the critical threshold, a new market will be opened. This opening process is not a linear development process but a step - by - step leap process."
In terms of the development rhythm, the core demand of the domestic market at this stage is the rapid networking of large - scale satellite constellations. This will also be the most important service target and commercialization source for commercial rocket companies in the next 3 - 5 years. Yushi Space hopes to control the cost per kilogram of carrying capacity below 20,000 yuan during this period, enabling rockets to serve large - scale satellite constellation networking. This is the first stage.
"When the rocket carrying capacity cost drops to about 5,000 yuan per kilogram, we will enter the stage of space facility construction and operation." Tang Wen believes that applications such as space photovoltaics and space computing power, which have attracted much market attention recently, must be based on a rocket carrying capacity cost of less than 5,000 yuan per kilogram. In the long run, only when the rocket carrying capacity cost drops below 500 yuan per kilogram can rockets truly serve tasks such as lunar base construction.
"The demand for rocket carrying capacity in these scenarios and the development of the space economy are long - term tracks that will last for at least more than 10 years. Standing at such an era's tuyere, this is not an opportunity for a single company but an opportunity for the entire era." Tang Wen summarized.
Views of Investors
The person in charge of the project of Gaorong Venture Capital, the lead investor in this round, said: As the core underlying infrastructure for strategic industries such as satellite Internet, space computing power, and 6G, commercial space is moving towards the 2.0 era from R & D verification to large - scale commercial implementation. Large - capacity, reusable rockets have become a rigid demand for industry development. Yushi Space is the earliest domestic commercial rocket company to comprehensively benchmark against SpaceX, focusing on the R & D of medium - and large - sized reusable liquid rockets with a diameter of four meters. The team has always targeted the technological high - point of the commercial space track. While adhering to the ultimate technological route, under the leadership of Dr. Tang Wen, the Yushi team has shown irresistible combat effectiveness, and the progress of engineering implementation is remarkable. We look forward to witnessing Yushi creating more industry milestones in the near future.
Kunlun Capital, the lead investor in this round, said: China's commercial space industry has entered a new stage of development. The market has put forward clear requirements for rockets with "low cost, high frequency, reusability, and large capacity". At the same time, with the rapid rise of emerging industries such as space computing power, space manufacturing, and deep - space economy, large - scale reusable launch vehicles will become an important capability for future space infrastructure construction. Since its establishment, Yushi Space has clearly chosen the product definition and technical route of "liquid oxygen methane + stainless - steel rocket body + chopstick clamping recovery" and has made firm investments in aspects such as talent attraction and engineering support, quickly achieving R & D milestones, which reflects the team's clear judgment in strategic choices and strong sense of purpose.
Kunlun Capital focuses on investing in the field of hard technology and attaches importance to a company's clear technical route, verifiable engineering capabilities, as well as the mission, sense of purpose, and continuous execution ability of the entrepreneurial team. This investment in Yushi Space is based on our optimism about the long - term development prospects of China's commercial space industry and our recognition of the team led by Dr. Tang Wen. Kunlun Capital is willing to accompany Yushi Space and jointly promote China's large - scale reusable launch vehicles from catching up to leading.
The investment team of Jianfa Emerging said: We are highly optimistic about the industrial transformation opportunities and the long - term growth value of enterprises in the 2.0 era of commercial space. The industry has now entered a new stage of large - scale, low - cost commercialization. Medium - and large - sized reusable rockets with a diameter of four meters have become a rigid demand for industry development. The fifth listing standard of the Science and Technology Innovation Board has clearly defined the listing access rules for hard - technology space enterprises. Yushi Space's focus on medium - and large - sized reusable liquid rockets is fully in line with regulatory standards and the mainstream direction of industry development. The team has always adhered to a practical and realistic work style and has been deeply engaged in engineering R & D. Among the new - generation commercial space enterprises in the same batch, the overall progress of engineering implementation ranks among the top in the industry, and the growth certainty is extremely high. Jianfa Emerging looks forward to the Yushi team, led by Dr. Tang Wen, maintaining an amazing growth rate and strong execution ability, firmly following the ultimate route, and becoming the second rocket enterprise in the industry to complete the first flight of a rocket with a diameter of over 4 meters.
Orient Securities Capital said: Orient Securities Capital is firmly optimistic about the commercial aerospace track. Yushi Space directly chose the ultimate solution of "liquid oxygen methane + stainless steel", targeting the pain points of the industry in terms of reusability and large capacity for rockets with a diameter of over 4 meters. The team is well - configured, inclusive, and open, and is leading the industry in many aspects such as power, recovery, and engineering implementation. The commercial space industry has entered the elimination stage of "application implementation". Yushi Space has mastered the core technology of stainless - steel rockets, has the endorsement of industrial capital, and has a clear and open future business model. We believe that in the second half of the commercial space race, the company can achieve a leap from rocket verification to commercial launch, reshape the cost and efficiency standards of the commercial space industry, and become a leading force in domestic commercial space.
Blue Lake Capital said: Yushi Space is a typical representative of the 2.0 era of commercial space. Since its project establishment, it has directly benchmarked against the industry's ultimate route of "stainless steel + liquid oxygen methane + recoverability", completely skipping the historical burden of solid and small - liquid rockets in the 1.0 era, without any sunk costs from ineffective investments. The team has no path dependence, and all resources are focused on the R & D of medium - and large - sized reusable rockets, efficiently matching the market's rigid demand and having significant late - mover advantages.
Honghui Fund said: Honghui Fund has always taken exploring the long - term value of technology and investing in hard - core underlying technologies as its investment philosophy. This investment in Yushi Space is another important layout of Honghui in the innovative technology track. We will fully support Dr. Tang and his team to accelerate the first flight of the rocket and large - scale operations, and help China's commercial space reusable launch technology achieve a breakthrough.
Multiple industrial shareholders in this round said: Rocket production capacity is the biggest bottleneck in the entire space economy, and rocket cost directly affects the explosion of downstream ecosystems and applications. Yushi Space has locked in the ultimate technical route of stainless - steel rocket bodies, liquid oxygen methane power, and recoverability, which not only precisely conforms to the long - term evolution direction of the industry but also fully demonstrates the core team's in - depth judgment of the industry trend and long - term strategic determination. With the acceleration of low - orbit satellite constellation construction and the broad market of future industries such as space photovoltaics, space computing power, and space mining, large - capacity, low - cost, and recoverable launch vehicles will become a rigid market demand. With its leading technical architecture and the leading commercialization progress in the industry, Yushi Space is expected to seize the opportunity in the new round of industry reshuffle and grow into a backbone enterprise in the commercial space track.