Chengdu's 10-billion-yuan unicorn is set to launch its IPO.

Recently, Chengdu Guoxing Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guoxing Aerospace") has officially passed the listing hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This means that this Chinese commercial aerospace enterprise with AI satellites as its core will officially sprint for the title of "First AI Space Stock", and it also means that Chengdu will welcome a landmark IPO in the commercial aerospace sector.

It is worth noting that when Guoxing Aerospace passed the hearing, the commercial aerospace track it belongs to has also undergone profound changes: on the one hand, concept companies such as satellite internet and AI intelligent computing constellations have intensively submitted listing applications, on the other hand, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has tightened its review of the commercialization authenticity, customer concentration and profit path of aerospace enterprises.

In this context, the listing process and subsequent performance of Guoxing Aerospace are worthy of market attention.

The "First AI Space Stock" is coming

The story of Guoxing Aerospace dates back to 2018. Founder Dr. Lu Chuan is a technology-oriented entrepreneur who graduated from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. He has nearly 20 years of research experience in the fields of AI and communication engineering, has won the first prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of the Ministry of Education and the first prize of the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and was selected into the National High-level Talent Special Support Plan.

In May 2018, Lu Chuan founded Guoxing Aerospace in Chengdu, with its strategic focus on satellites and related services as well as space-based solutions. At that time, China's commercial aerospace was still in the early stage of development, and the company chose a differentiated path: instead of simply replicating traditional remote sensing satellites, it designed an "AI-native satellite system" from scratch, embedding AI functions into the core of the satellite architecture.

Shortly after the company was established, the first milestone came: in December 2018, Guoxing Aerospace successfully launched China's first AI application satellite, verifying the in-orbit application feasibility of AI technology in China's commercial aerospace field. Since then, the company's technical route has continued to iterate: in September 2024, it successfully developed and launched China's first AI large model intelligent computing satellite; in May 2025, it successfully developed and launched the world's first AI intelligent computing constellation composed of 12 AI intelligent computing satellites, with a total on-board computing power of up to 5 POPS, marking that the company has reached an important milestone in the construction of space intelligent computing constellations and integrated AI space intelligent computing systems.

Up to now, Guoxing Aerospace has independently developed 6 AI payloads, 4 AI application satellites and 26 AI intelligent computing satellites. Through launches arranged by the company or coordinated with business partners, it has successfully completed 15 space missions, launching a total of 35 satellites, including 29 AI satellites. In terms of the cumulative number of successful AI satellite launches, the company ranks first among all private commercial aerospace enterprises in China.

The technical milestones have also been reflected in the financial statements. According to the prospectus, the company's revenue increased from 508 million yuan in 2023 to 703 million yuan in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.7%. Among them, the revenue from AI intelligent computing satellites increased from 77.66 million yuan in 2024 to 225 million yuan in 2025; the proportion of revenue from the entire satellite and related services increased from 0.6% to 36.5%.

In terms of net profit, Guoxing Aerospace's adjusted net loss also narrowed from -144 million yuan in the first half of 2025 to -65 million yuan in the first half of 2026. Although losses still exist, it can be seen that signals of improvement in the unit economic model have emerged.

Valued at 11.55 billion yuan, Ye Guofu from Miniso also participated in the investment

From the perspective of financing history, Guoxing Aerospace has completed a total of 10 rounds of financing with a steady pace, which is not concentrated in the past one or two years when commercial aerospace was booming.

Shortly after the company was established in May 2018, Guoxing Aerospace completed its first round of financing. At that time, Chengdu SEARI and Shenzhen Venture Capital Group made the investment, with a post-investment valuation of about 95 million yuan. Equity penetration shows that Chengdu SEARI is an alumni fund under the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Since then, Guoxing Aerospace has been continuously supported by state-owned capital, with Guangxin Development, Shenzhen Venture Capital Group, Hongtai Cool Entertainment, Tongkun Langtai, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund, Huacang Yixing Investment and other institutions participating in the investment one after another.

Of course, among these 10 rounds of financing, the most high-profile ones are the financing in December 2024 and the last round of financing before IPO in April 2026. In the December 2024 financing, dozens of local state-owned capitals joined hands with industrial capital to invest 537.5 million yuan. Although it is not the largest in terms of amount, it reveals an extremely important signal: state-owned capital is betting on commercial aerospace.

The other is the 3.55 billion yuan financing in April 2026. This financing is absolutely a highlight in the commercial aerospace sector. Not only did the single financing amount reach 3.55 billion yuan, the post-investment valuation also broke through the 10 billion yuan mark at one go, reaching 11.554 billion yuan. At the same time, it has become the largest financing of Guoxing Aerospace since its establishment, which directly laid the foundation for Guoxing Aerospace to sprint for the "First AI Space Stock".

A series of state-owned capitals emerged in these two rounds of financing. The Hengkun Development Fund, which made the investment in 2020, is ultimately owned by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangdong Province; Haijin Xingyu and Haijin Juying are backed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Qingdao; Ceyuan Youchan and Ceyuan Innovation are funds under the Chengdu High-tech Zone. Taizhou Capital, Taizhou Gold Investment and Zhejiang Zhongjing jointly form the Taizhou state-owned capital phalanx; Neijiang Investment, Neijiang High-tech Technology Investment, Chengdu Dongjin, Chengdu Science and Technology Service Group and Guangxin Development form the Sichuan local state-owned capital lineup.

Of course, in addition to these state-owned capitals, there is also a familiar name: Ye Guofu, founder of Miniso, who invested 160 million yuan as an individual investor to subscribe for 7.926 million shares, corresponding to a cost of 20.2 yuan per share. In terms of market-oriented institutions, HSG participated in this 3.55 billion yuan financing through its related parties Xiamen Yaheng and Beijing Anshan; the Jinko department also participated through Jiaxing Jinmu and Jinko Technology.

With the completion of this largest-scale financing, Guoxing Aerospace has officially become a 10-billion-yuan level leading domestic commercial aerospace enterprise, ranking in the first echelon of the private satellite track.

Chengdu gathers 1000 aerospace manufacturing enterprises

Behind the surge in Guoxing Aerospace's valuation is actually a concentrated explosion of Chengdu's commercial aerospace industry layout.

For Chengdu, the significance of Guoxing Aerospace is far more than just "adding one more aerospace enterprise". Its development and growth have upgraded Chengdu from a node of satellite application and data services to a city that can manufacture satellites, manage satellites and operate space computing constellations.

First of all, it fills the "satellite end" gap of Chengdu's commercial aerospace industry. Based on the original aerospace and electronic information foundation, Guoxing Aerospace has extended its capabilities to satellite development, in-orbit measurement and control and application services, forming the chain of "manufacturing satellites - managing satellites - using satellites". At the same time, it serves as the chain-leading enterprise for Chengdu's satellite internet and satellite applications.

Secondly, Guoxing Aerospace's sprint for the "First AI Space Stock" has, in a sense, attached a new label of "Space AI" to Chengdu. The focus of Guoxing Aerospace is space computing, that is, placing AI computing power on satellites to process data in space first before transmitting it back to the ground. The ultimate goal of its "Space Computing" plan is to form a network of about 2,800 computing satellites to build a global space-based computing power network.

This enables Chengdu to not only engage in traditional remote sensing, but also enter the cutting-edge track of the intersection of AI and aerospace, and the city's industrial image has extended from software and consumer electronics to hard technology.

Thirdly, it directly drives the gathering of local manufacturing and talents. Mass satellite manufacturing will drive links such as on-board computers, communication equipment, sensors, thermal control and additive manufacturing. The process will bring high-end talents in aerospace system engineering, inter-satellite communication, AI model deployment and other fields, strengthening Chengdu's scientific research and engineering capabilities.

Last but not least, Guoxing Aerospace connects the closed loop of Chengdu's commercial aerospace. If Guoxing Aerospace solves the problem of "satellite manufacturing and operation", then the i-Space Shuangliu base solves the problem of "rocket final assembly", and Xichang provides the launch scenario. The combination of the three has laid a practical foundation for the model of "Chengdu-made, Xichang-launched, data applied on the ground".

In addition, landmark enterprises such as i-Space, Fujiang Industry, Jiuzhou Yunjian and the 10th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation also constitute Chengdu's confidence in the commercial aerospace sector.

Of course, the development of the industry cannot be separated from the promotion of capital. Whether it is Guoxing Aerospace or i-Space, a large number of Chengdu capitals are gathered behind them, including local state-owned capitals such as Jiaozi Capital and Ceyuan Capital, as well as market-oriented institutions such as Suzhou Yuanhe and Hongtai Fund.

Not long ago, Jiaozi Capital completed the E-round investment in i-Space in August this year through its managed Jiaozi ICBC AIC Fund. It is reported that this is the first landmark investment of this fund in 2026; earlier, Jiaozi Capital also participated in the B-round financing of Galactic Energy through its entrusted managed New Economy Industry Fund, which is also the first direct investment project implemented by this fund.

In the fields of satellite application and power system, Jiaozi Capital has also invested in Guoxing Aerospace and Jiuzhou Yunjian; in key components, it has bet on Lichen Aviation. These five enterprises connect the complete chain from core components, to whole rocket manufacturing and then to satellite operation.

Chengdu Industrial Investment has taken another path: its Heavy Industry Fund, as a "patient capital", has injected capital into the i-Space Chengdu base, jointly promoting the 3.3 billion yuan "super factory" to settle in Chengdu, bringing the whole rocket final assembly capability into the industrial chain, and driving the agglomeration of upstream and downstream materials, measurement and control, and logistics enterprises.

According to the "Three-Year Action Plan for Innovative Development of Commercial Aerospace in Chengdu (2025-2027)", by 2027, Chengdu strives to make the scale of commercial aerospace and related industries reach 50 billion yuan, with more than 7 chain-leading enterprises and more than 12 listed enterprises. According to other data, in 2025, the manufacturing scale of Chengdu's aerospace industry has reached nearly 140 billion yuan, gathering more than 1000 enterprises.

A series of data and achievements show that more capital and industrial chain enterprises will undoubtedly pour into Chengdu in the future, and the commercialization process of its commercial aerospace will also accelerate accordingly.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Dongsi Shitiao Capital" (ID: DsstCapital), written by Chen Mei, edited by Wang Qingwu, and authorized for release by 36Kr.