After leaving NIO, a talented Tsinghua University graduate is going for an IPO.

The IPO market for Hong Kong stocks has been extremely hot, and even Americans are getting in on the action.

Touzizhe.com has learned that recently, big news has emerged in the new energy vehicle industry. Megatronix Inc., a star company focusing on vehicle intelligence and providing "integrated intelligent cockpit + X domain control solutions" for automakers, has submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China International Capital Corporation, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank are the joint sponsors. If all goes smoothly, the Hong Kong stock market will welcome a giant in the intelligent cockpit field.

This is another company with a "legendary" color. The founder of Megatronix Inc. is the well - known Chinese - American Tsinghua University talent Zhuang Li. Her love story with Zhou Feng, the CEO of NetEase Youdao and a Tsinghua University talent, is still circulating in the venture capital circle. After obtaining a doctorate in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, Zhuang Li worked in many well - known global companies and held important positions. With the rise of the new energy vehicle industry, Zhuang Li joined NIO, Li Bin's company, as a vice - president, responsible for NIO's software development work.

She elevated the technological sense of NIO to a new level. In 2018, feeling that the time was right to go solo, Zhuang Li founded Megatronix (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. with the encouragement of her husband Zhou Feng, focusing on artificial intelligence, intelligent cockpit, and Internet of Things technologies. Hearing that the "legendary" figure Zhuang Li from Tsinghua was starting a business, VC/PE and industrial capital couldn't sit still and provided five rounds of financing. Institutions such as HIKE Capital, Redpoint China, Nanshan Capital, Greater Bay Area Common Home Development Fund, Mufangkechuang, Zhilu Capital, and M31 Capital rushed to invest.

Before the IPO, Megatronix Inc. was valued at $930 million. Zhuang Li, her husband, and the capital are about to embark on a wealth - creating feast.

01

The "fairy - like couple" recognized in the venture capital circle is going to ring the bell together again.

The last time they rang the bell for an IPO, Zhuang Li accompanied her husband Zhou Feng. It was back in 2005. At that time, Ding Lei, the 33 - year - old founder of NetEase, was in high spirits and became the richest man in China. Despite being the richest man, Ding Lei had his "troubles." His email was often harassed by spam, so he wanted to find a genius to solve the spam problem. Ding Lei first thought of Zhou Feng, a "famous figure" on the Tsinghua University campus.

Zhou Feng was very famous in the Internet industry and was a classmate and good friend of Wang Xiaochuan. He wrote a paper titled "Approximate Object Location and Spam Filtering in P2P Systems," which was highly favored by Ding Lei. To recruit Zhou Feng, a talent from Tsinghua University, Ding Lei asked many people and finally turned to Zhou Feng's wife Zhuang Li. With Zhou Feng, they developed the "NetEase Anti - Spam System."

Based on the "NetEase Anti - Spam System," NetEase quickly established a new company, NetEase Youdao, with Zhou Feng as the CEO. Since Zhuang Li helped her husband a lot, she was one of the early founders of NetEase Youdao. So, when NetEase Youdao went public on the US stock market in 2019, Zhuang Li came to the New York Stock Exchange and rang the bell with her husband on - site, thus creating the story of the "fairy - like couple" in the venture capital circle.

Actually, during their time at Tsinghua University, Zhuang Li and Zhou Feng were an enviable loving couple. While others' relationships affected their studies, they managed to balance love and study, making their good friend Wang Xiaochuan extremely envious and indirectly inspiring him to strive for a better life.

Before writing about Megatronix Inc. and the story of Zhuang Li and Zhou Feng, Touzizhe.com also wrote an article about a university couple starting a business this week. The two 80s - born couple from Zhejiang University graduated from Zhejiang University, went overseas for further studies together, returned to China for scientific research, and started a business together, which can be regarded as a representative of "inseparable" couples in entrepreneurship. Different from that Zhejiang University couple, Zhuang Li and Zhou Feng, a couple from Tsinghua University, "developed independently" and achieved success together. After leaving Tsinghua University, although they went to the United States to study together, they had "non - interfering" life journeys.

However, this "non - interference" did not affect their "unbreakable" love. After obtaining a doctorate in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, Zhuang Li chose to continue researching cutting - edge technologies in the United States. With her outstanding performance during her university years, Zhuang Li joined Microsoft and was one of the top Chinese researchers at the Microsoft Research Asia. She was also a globally - recognized technology talent.

After leaving Microsoft, Zhuang Li worked in many well - known global technology companies. One of her most notable resumes was joining NIO. At NIO, Zhuang Li accomplished three major things that changed the competitive landscape of the new energy vehicle industry. These three things included leading the development of NIO's intelligent cockpit system, designing and implementing core modules such as the vehicle - Internet and central control system. She also participated in NIO's early strategic planning and promoted the in - depth integration of software and hardware. She led the software team to create an industry - leading central control system.

Zhuang Li gave the new energy vehicles, which only focused on battery life, a "soul," and the era of competing in intelligent cockpits and human - machine interaction has arrived.

02

After working at NIO for several years, Zhuang Li saw the huge commercial potential of the Chinese new energy vehicle market.

With the encouragement and support of her husband, Zhuang Li, who had a strong foundation in intelligent cockpit technology, reignited her entrepreneurial ambition. She believed that under the global trend of intelligentization, she could build a great company. In 2018, Zhuang Li founded Megatronix (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. right away. In 2025, when planning for an IPO on the Hong Kong stock market, Zhuang Li established Megatronix Inc. overseas.

The following year after starting the business, with Zhuang Li's influence in the venture capital circle, Megatronix Inc. easily obtained two rounds of financing for the research of artificial intelligence technology. Megatronix Inc. aimed to create an integrated domain control solution and redefine the value attributes of vehicles. Within the company, Zhuang Li was very charismatic, and the R & D team was full of enthusiasm. In the same year, they developed an intelligent cockpit solution and software architecture compatible with mainstream chips.

In 2020, Megatronix Inc. started exploring commercialization and was one of the first - selected projects for leading players in the Chinese new energy vehicle industry, such as Li Auto and Changan Shenlan. Here is an interesting point. NIO was Zhuang Li's former employer. Logically, Megatronix Inc. should have established a cooperation relationship with NIO first. However, Megatronix Inc. first cooperated with Li Auto. Does this mean they are not optimistic about their former boss?

Whether they are optimistic or not is unclear, and why Zhuang Li left NIO is also a mystery. However, the capital is very optimistic about Zhuang Li. In 2021, Megatronix Inc. received $100 million in financing from institutions such as Transcendence Capital, Greater Bay Area Common Home Development Fund, Nanshan Capital, Redpoint China, and HIKE Capital. Zhuang Li said excitedly, "Financing is something that a company should do during its development, but it is not an achievement. Empowering vehicle manufacturers to develop highly intelligent software for the entire automotive industry is our original intention and vision."

It has to be said that Zhuang Li's entrepreneurial efficiency is amazing. In 2022, the vehicles equipped with Megatronix Inc.'s intelligent cockpit solution were mass - produced and delivered. Later, the company continuously expanded its list of fixed - point vehicle manufacturers, including both new energy vehicle manufacturers and traditional vehicle manufacturers. They trusted Megatronix Inc.'s products and spoke highly of Zhuang Li. In 2023, Megatronix Inc., which had achieved good results, raised funds again, and the old shareholders continued to invest.

There is a saying in the venture capital circle, "The better the project, the less likely the old shareholders are to withdraw." The capital is optimistic about Megatronix Inc. because it values the efficiency of Zhuang Li's team. The capital has been scared by entrepreneurs who "only focus on R & D and do not expand customers." Several companies that had problems in 2025, such as GK Gene founded by Cao Yueqiong, a female scientist from Fudan University, "the more difficult the situation, the more GK Gene focused on R & D, going against the wishes of the capital."

If a company only focuses on R & D without pursuing commercialization, the capital will never tolerate it. Eventually, GK Gene was backfired by the capital, and the company was labeled as an "executed person," and its future is uncertain. Megatronix Inc. focuses on both R & D and customer acquisition and tries to add new customers every year. As of December 2024, Megatronix Inc. had 48 fixed - point cooperation projects and 23 newly - obtained fixed - point projects. Its cooperation customers include global well - known vehicle manufacturers such as Nissan, Ford, Mazda, Chery, Changan, and Dongfeng. According to media reports, "In 2024, about one in every ten new vehicles in China equipped with an intelligent cockpit domain control system used Megatronix Inc.'s solution."

Megatronix Inc. is unparalleled in the intelligent cockpit field.

03

Zhuang Li, who has received US dollars in funds and has rich American connections, did not choose the US stock market but set her IPO goal on the Hong Kong stock market.

Behind this may be the consideration of the deep - rooted position of the Chinese new energy vehicle industry globally and the market with infinite business opportunities. According to the analysis of the currently very popular AI large - model DeepSeek, "The explosive growth of the Chinese new energy vehicle industry is reconstructing the industrial ecosystem and releasing multi - dimensional and cross - domain business space. Each niche area may generate a market worth trillions or hundreds of billions of dollars." This is a background factor that cannot be ignored. Another key factor is that "the Hong Kong Stock Exchange allows unprofitable technology companies to list."

Although Megatronix Inc. has a fast commercialization speed and spares no effort in developing customers, it is essentially not a profitable company. The prospectus shows that in 2022, 2023, and 2024, the company's revenues were 388 million yuan, 1.513 billion yuan, and 1.42 billion yuan respectively, and the corresponding net profits were - 423 million yuan, - 357 million yuan, and - 291 million yuan respectively. The total loss in the past three years exceeded 1 billion yuan.

DeepSeek summarized the reasons for Megatronix Inc.'s losses. First, there is a mismatch between the high - pressure R & D and the return cycle. No matter how much Megatronix Inc. expands its customers, its core competitiveness is still technology. Long - term investment is required in artificial intelligence algorithms and modular software architectures, and it is difficult to synchronize the technology transformation with the vehicles produced by vehicle manufacturers, resulting in a lag in input - output and difficulty in short - term monetization. Second, technological iteration squeezes the profit window. The intelligent cockpit field relies on high - end chip solutions, and the hardware cost accounts for a high proportion. Products need to be frequently upgraded to meet the new needs of vehicle manufacturers, but the customer pricing is often suppressed by costs and is difficult to cover the R & D amortization. Third, industry competition squeezes the living space. Leading new energy vehicle manufacturers such as Huawei and Tesla control the intelligent cockpit ecosystem through integrated software - hardware solutions. Although Megatronix Inc. has many customers, it has to give concessions to vehicle manufacturers first. However, some vehicle manufacturers are losing money in selling cars, forcing Megatronix Inc. to lose money along with them.

The third point hits the nail on the head. Some new energy vehicle manufacturers are not making money, and Megatronix Inc. is suffering because of its customers. What about the profitable vehicle manufacturers? They have their own intelligent cockpit ecosystems. In this situation, Megatronix Inc. needs to further expand its customer base, spread the R & D and production investment through the number of projects, and gradually turn losses into profits. However, the cycle is too long, and the capital is definitely not willing to wait.

After 2023, Megatronix Inc., which urgently needs to "burn money," has not received any more financing, mainly because there is a "disagreement" in the investment logic of the capital. Some investors think that "the user demand for the intelligent cockpit of some vehicle manufacturers is not clear." The in - vehicle mobile phone interconnection technologies CarPlay and Android Auto provide an experience close to that of an intelligent cockpit at a low cost, reducing users' interest in the native intelligent cockpit.

Vehicle manufacturers that are not selling well are adjusting their intelligent cockpit deployment plans to control costs, while powerful vehicle manufacturers are actively forming software teams to reduce third - party procurement and build their own ecosystems like Huawei and Tesla. The early fixed - point customer of Megatronix Inc., Li Auto, mentioned earlier, is also researching the intelligent cockpit ecosystem. Vehicle manufacturers building their own intelligent cockpits will further compress Megatronix Inc.'s market presence.

What to do? Going public is a "lifesaver." Megatronix Inc. wants to pin its hopes on shareholders and turn the situation around through an IPO. Before the IPO, Megatronix Inc. was valued at $930 million, about 6.6 billion yuan. Zhuang Li holds 53.2% of the company's equity through controlling an overseas family trust (the beneficiaries are Zhuang Li and her minor children), making her the single largest shareholder and the actual controller. Once Megatronix Inc. successfully goes public on the Hong Kong stock market, she will gain a fortune of over 3 billion yuan, and she and her husband will live a "true fairy - like couple" life.

So, do you think Megatronix Inc. will succeed in its IPO on the Hong Kong stock market?

This article is from the WeChat official account "Touzizhe", author: Lao Gao. Republished by 36Kr with permission.