Aufzählung der neuen Unicorns in Shanghai: Kernfusion, Tiefflieger - sie starten!
According to the data of the IT Juzi Unicorn Club, as of July 30, 2025, there were a total of 86 unicorn companies listed in Shanghai. In this article, we focus on the new additions and departures in the past one and a half years.
According to IT Juzi data, nine new unicorn companies were added in Shanghai in 2024, and another five were added in the first half of 2025, totaling 14. They cover areas such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and renewable energy.
The highest - valued companies, Yuanxin Satellite ($3.89 billion) and Fusion Energy ($2.31 billion), are both companies in the hard - tech field. Companies from the healthcare and high - tech manufacturing sectors account for more than half, such as United Imaging Intelligence and Fengfei Aviation. This reflects the direction of industrial upgrading in Shanghai. Traditional industries like Anji Logistics and Taiping Pension have made it onto the list through digital transformation, reflecting the trend of the "technology +" integration.
These new unicorn companies show a strong development trend in several leading areas.
IT Juzi has selected four companies, United Imaging Intelligence, Fourier Intelligence, Yuanxin Satellite, and Fengfei Aviation, to interpret typical case studies. They represent the innovation achievements and development potential in the fields of medical AI, medical humanoid robots, and the research, development, and manufacturing of self - driving aircraft.
1. United Imaging Intelligence: The Leader in Comprehensive Medical AI Solutions
Shanghai United Imaging Intelligence Medical Technology Co., Ltd. is an AI company of the United Imaging Healthcare Technology Group and was founded at the end of 2017. The company focuses on providing comprehensive, integrated medical AI solutions for different scenarios and diseases. Its technologies are widely applied in areas such as medical image analysis, intelligent diagnostic support, data management, and disease prognosis.
At the beginning, United Imaging Intelligence established a team and focused on the research and development of AI algorithms. In 2019, it completed its first round of equity financing, in which more than 20 investors such as Shanghai United Investment, Gaotejia Investment, SDIC Innovation and Investment, and China International Capital Corporation participated. This financial assistance helped the company expand its product portfolio and initially launch medical image analysis tools such as an intelligent CT lung nodule screening system and an intelligent FFDM breast image analysis system.
During this phase, United Imaging Intelligence benefited from the ecological support of its parent company and collected a huge amount of medical data (based on the number of installed devices of United Imaging Healthcare), which laid the foundation for the development from "data - driven" to "AI application".
From 2020 to 2023, the company benefited from the Chinese government's support for medical AI (such as the "Healthy China 2030" plan) and the demand for telemedicine during the pandemic. Its business volume grew rapidly, and it entered a phase of rapid growth. During this time, more than 10 AI platforms were developed, covering the entire process from prevention, diagnosis, treatment planning to after - care.
In April 2024, United Imaging Intelligence introduced the uAI Imaging Intelligence Large Model Foundation, which focuses on text, image, and mixed - modality large models and supports more than 10 image modalities. The accuracy is over 95%. This marks the company's evolution from "instrumental AI" to "intelligence agent".
In June of this year, United Imaging Intelligence announced that it had received a capital increase of one billion yuan, in which investors such as E Fund Private Equity and Shanghai Guotou Asset Management participated. It is estimated that the company's value after the investment is ten billion yuan, and it has joined the group of unicorns. United Imaging Healthcare's mixed large model is currently being applied in AI + AR - controlled liver transplantation operations, and dozens of cases have already been carried out in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
2. Fourier Intelligence: The Exploration from Rehabilitation Robots to Humanoid Robots
Shanghai Fourier Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in July 2015. The founder is the serial entrepreneur Gu Jie. Its headquarters is located in the Zhangjiang High - Tech Park in the Pudong District of Shanghai. It is a world - leading company in rehabilitation robots and embodied intelligence.
At the beginning, the Fourier team gathered experts from the fields of rehabilitation medicine and robotics and launched its first exoskeleton robot product. In 2015, it completed an angel financing of eight million yuan, led by Zhangjiang Hi - Tech Investment and IDG Capital, to promote technical validation and product iteration.
From 2016 to 2018, Fourier accelerated its international expansion, established a subsidiary in Singapore, and completed a total of pre - A and A - round financings, with a total amount exceeding one million yuan. It focused on the research and development of high - quality rehabilitation devices, and its products were exported to many countries.
In 2019, Fourier Intelligence completed a B - round financing of several million yuan to further expand its product portfolio. In 2020, the financing amount in the C - round exceeded 200 million yuan, including a C + - round of several million yuan in 2021, led by the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund. In January 2022, it completed a D - round financing of 400 million yuan, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, followed by Prosperity7 Ventures and Yuanjing Capital. This marks the company's transformation from rehabilitation robots to general robots. In the same year, Fourier began the research and development of humanoid robots.
In 2023, Fourier was included in the list of potential unicorn companies focusing on services in Shanghai. In June, it released the "Galileo" system for quantifying human movement, which combines biomechanics and AI to promote implementation in medical scenarios. In 2024, it launched the open - source humanoid robot GR - 1, which is used in areas such as academic research, medical rehabilitation, and guiding services and is also involved in "One Belt, One Road" projects.
Benefiting from the wave of medical AI and embodied intelligence, Fourier completed an E - round financing of nearly 800 million yuan in January 2025, led by Guoxin Investment, followed by Pudong Venture Capital and Zhangjiang Hi - Tech Investment. In May, it received a strategic investment of up to 300 million yuan from Runyang Technology. The company's value after the investment exceeded 8 billion yuan, and it has officially joined the group of unicorns.
3. Fengfei Aviation: The Leader in Self - Driving Aircraft
Shanghai Fengfei Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in September 2019 by a group of aviation engineers and entrepreneurs. It focuses on the research and development of eVTOL (electric vertical take - off and landing) technology with a hybrid wing architecture to bring about a revolution in aviation from cargo transportation to passenger transportation.
At the beginning, Fengfei Aviation focused on the development of prototypes. In 2021, it completed an A - round financing of 100 million US dollars, led by International Aviation Capital. This was the largest single investment in the Chinese eVTOL field at that time and contributed to the company's transformation from research and development to commercialization. By this time, Fengfei had already built an overall industrial chain, including design, manufacturing, and aviation certification. Its products include the cargo version V2000CG "Career Gull" and the passenger - carrying version Prosperity I.
In March 2023, the Prosperity I set a world record with a single - cargo flight of 250.3 km on an eVTOL. In the same year, it completed the world's first eVTOL fleet flight to validate the maturity of the technology.
In 2024, Fengfei raised several hundred million US dollars in an exclusive strategic investment from CATL to strengthen cooperation in battery technology. The company's value exceeded 1.5 billion US dollars, marking the leap from a startup to a fast - growing company. It has become a global eVTOL unicorn. In the same year, Fengfei completed a demonstration flight from Shenzhen to Zhuhai, reducing the commuting time to 20 minutes.
In July 2025, Fengfei delivered the first ton - class eVTOL V2000CG "Career Gull" and received the "Three Aviation Airworthiness Certificates" from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is a milestone for the industry. Benefiting from the low - altitude economy policy, it is cooperating with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates (GACA). Its goal is to obtain the certificate for the passenger - carrying version in 2026 and become a leader in the low - altitude economy.
According to IT Juzi data, six unicorn companies in Shanghai were removed from the list from 2024 to the first half of 2025, including cases such as going public, being acquired, and being excluded due to the risk of stagnation.
Going Public: Four former unicorn companies in Shanghai have successfully listed on the stock exchange, all on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
These include the computer - vision chip company "Black Sesame Intelligence", which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in August 2024; the APaaS cloud - service provider "Qiniu Intelligence/Qiniu Cloud", which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2024; the hydrogen - energy R & D company "Reshape Energy", which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2024; and the industrial trading platform "Zhaogang Group", which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in March 2025.
Acquisition: Himalaya was acquired by Tencent Music in June of this year. In 2021, when Himalaya wanted to list on the US stock exchange, it had a company value of 5 billion US dollars. The total payment for Tencent Music's acquisition of Himalaya was approximately 2.857 billion US dollars, representing a significant decline in the company's value compared to its peak.
Stagnation and Departure: Since the beginning of 2024, cases of salary arrears and layoffs have successively occurred at the former unicorn intelligent robot company "CloudMinds Technology". Hundreds of employees at the headquarters in Shanghai and branches in Beijing and Shenzhen were involved in a one - year salary dispute. According to Tianyancha data, the company received a new enforcement order of 21.76 million yuan on March 24. At the same time, it is also involved in more than 20 legal proceedings, mainly regarding supply - chain disputes and intellectual property.
This article is from the WeChat account "IT Juzi" (ID: itjuzi521), written by Wu Meimei and published with the permission of 36Kr.