Focusing on the core processing field of informatization of national defense equipment, "Zetian Zhihang" has obtained tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing | 36Kr exclusive.
Written by Zhang Zhuoqian
Edited by Yuan Silai
36Kr has learned that Hunan Zetian Zhihang Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zetian Zhihang") has announced the completion of a tens of millions of yuan Series A financing round. The investors are Chengdu Science and Technology Innovation Investment Group, Jincheng Tianfu Investment Group, Changshi Capital, Asia Capital, and Lingyang Fund. The funds will be mainly used for product research and development and capacity expansion.
Zetian Zhihang was established in 2018 and is an integrated solution provider specializing in the software and hardware design, research and development, production, and sales of the core processing units, core subsystems, complete machines, and core underlying drivers of autonomous and controllable military equipment (shipborne, airborne, and vehicle-mounted, etc.). Its main customers cover multiple military services such as the Navy and Army, as well as military industrial groups such as China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation of China, Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation of China, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, and China Electronics Corporation.
In the current international situation, autonomy and controllability have become an important principle for the development of military informatization. Only by independently developing key technologies and building an independent and controllable industrial chain and supply chain system can the security and controllability of military informatization be ensured. As the brain of the modern national defense equipment system, the core processing unit of military equipment is the core of the informatization and intelligence of the equipment, and it also constitutes the key to promoting the autonomy and controllability of national defense equipment.
Zetian Zhihang's products are currently divided into three series, including military autonomous and controllable core processing units, core processing subsystems, and military high-performance complete machines. The autonomous and controllable products can be widely used in military fields such as shipborne, airborne, missile-borne, and field operations of the troops, as well as in civilian fields such as government, scientific research, and industrial control.
In addition to autonomous and controllable products, Zetian Zhihang is independently developing a domestic embedded real-time operating system. This system has leading performance and an innovative architectural design, is compatible with the POSIX standard and the Linux system call interface, and the binary executable files on Linux can be directly run. This operating system is known for its high reliability and stability and is widely used in shipborne, airborne, missile, unmanned aerial vehicle, high-speed rail, and industrial control fields. It can significantly improve the system response speed and bring high performance and security to modern embedded software and hardware. Its unique design effectively solves the challenges of the current products in terms of stability, reliability, and originality, ensuring the continuous and stable operation of the system in critical mission environments.
The R & D Team of Zetian Zhihang
The R & D team of Zetian Zhihang accounts for more than 60%, and the core members have more than ten years of experience in the research and development management and team management of core processing products and computing power products in the military electronics industry. The founder, Mr. Tang, has successively served as the technical director of a subsidiary of the China Electronics Corporation (CEC), a state-owned enterprise, and the project leader of a key project of a leading listed company in the military GPU field. He has participated in the research and development of multiple core processing unit models of military equipment.
Mr. Wang, the person in charge of investment and financing of Zetian Zhihang, told 36Kr, "We are one of the earliest teams in China to develop domestic autonomous and controllable core processing and computing power units. At the same time, we are also the only private technology enterprise in China that has connected from the core processing unit to the subsystem, the complete machine, and the underlying operating system and driver. We have now undertaken dozens of key model tasks. For example, in the field of public computing power units for domestic military ships, there are only two companies in China, and we are one of them."
Zetian Zhihang has participated in the research and development of more than 200 military product models, of which more than 50 have been finalized. Some model products have completed small-batch equipment and are gradually entering the large-batch equipment and delivery cycle.
Investor Views:
Chengdu Science and Technology Innovation Investment Group stated, "Military security is the field with the most intense competition and confrontation. As an excellent provider of military computing power processing units and subsystem products, Zetian Zhihang's self-developed RustOS operating platform has high value in improving the system response speed, performance, and security. In 2024, Sichuan Province has listed artificial intelligence as the No. 1 innovation project. This strategic measure aims to promote the comprehensive development of the province in the field of artificial intelligence and build a diversified computing power service system. Through this investment and the recruitment of the enterprise to Chengdu, Chengdu Science and Technology Innovation Investment will further promote the development of the electronic information industry in Sichuan region and enhance the momentum and empowerment for Chengdu to build an industrial highland with active innovation, leading scale, and complete ecology."
Chengdu Jincheng Tianfu Investment Group stated, "We believe that the autonomy and controllability of national defense equipment and domestic substitution is a clear investment thread. Zetian Zhihang has been deeply engaged in the field of military embedded computing and core processing for many years, and has participated in the supporting research and development and production of national key model project weapons and equipment many times, with a strong technical reserve for domestic substitution. In recent years, Zetian Zhihang has made a strategic layout in the aviation field, which is highly consistent with the development positioning of 'Humanistic Qingyang · Aviation New City' in Qingyang District, Chengdu. Relying on the strong attraction of leading enterprises such as AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd., Qingyang District has become the largest aviation industrial cluster in Chengdu. The state-owned enterprise Jincheng Tianfu Group in Qingyang District has established the Qingyang Industrial Fund Cluster - Dynamic Capital to create patient capital and deepen the empowerment of industrial development. Zetian Zhihang, as the invested company of the Dynamic Capital for the collaborative empowerment of the government and enterprises, has moved its headquarters to Qingyang District. We believe that this is a two-way choice for the enterprise and Qingyang District in industrial layout and a win-win choice for future development. At the same time, choosing to invest at the critical stage of the enterprise's development and providing the most needed assistance to the enterprise is also an important practice of our investment concept of 'patient capital, long-term capital, and strategic capital'."