Review of Shanghai's New Unicorns: Nuclear Fusion and Low-Altitude Aircraft Take Off
According to the data from the IT Juzi Unicorn Club, as of July 30, 2025, there were a total of 86 unicorn enterprises on the list in Shanghai. In this article, we will focus on the new additions and exits in the past year and a half.
According to IT Juzi data, 9 new unicorn enterprises emerged in Shanghai in 2024, and 5 in the first half of 2025, totaling 14. They cover fields such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and new energy.
Yuanxin Satellite (valued at $3.89 billion) and Fusion Energy (valued at $2.31 billion), the two with the highest valuations, are both companies in the hard - tech track. More than half of the enterprises are in the fields of medical health and high - end manufacturing, such as United Imaging Intelligence and Fengfei Aviation, which reflects the direction of Shanghai's industrial upgrade. Traditional industries like Anji Logistics and Taiping Pension have also made it onto the list through digital transformation, demonstrating the integration trend of "technology +".
These newly - emerged unicorn enterprises show strong development momentum in multiple cutting - edge fields.
IT Juzi selected four enterprises, United Imaging Intelligence, Fourier Intelligence, Yuanxin Satellite, and Fengfei Aviation, for a typical case analysis. They represent the innovation achievements and development potential in the fields of medical AI, medical humanoid robots, and R & D and manufacturing of autonomous flying vehicles respectively.
1. United Imaging Intelligence: The Leader of Full - Process Medical AI Solutions
Shanghai United Imaging Intelligence Medical Technology Co., Ltd. is an artificial intelligence company under the United Imaging Healthcare Technology Group, founded at the end of 2017. The company focuses on providing multi - scenario, multi - disease, full - process, and integrated medical AI solutions. Its technologies are widely used in fields such as medical image analysis, intelligent diagnostic assistance, data management, and disease prediction.
In the early stage, by assembling a team, United Imaging Intelligence focused on AI algorithm R & D and completed its first round of equity financing in 2019. The participants included more than 20 investors such as Shanghai United Investment, Gaotejia Investment, SDIC Innovation, and CICC. This round of financing helped the company expand its product line and initially launched medical image analysis tools, such as the CT pulmonary nodule intelligent screening system and the FFDM breast intelligent analysis system.
During this period, United Imaging Intelligence benefited from the ecological support of its parent company and accumulated a large amount of medical data (based on the installation volume of United Imaging Healthcare's equipment), laying the foundation for the transition from "data - driven" to "AI application".
From 2020 to 2023, benefiting from the promotion of China's medical AI policies (such as the "Healthy China 2030" plan) and the demand for remote diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic, the company's business scale expanded rapidly, entering a period of high - speed growth. During this period, it developed more than 10 AI platforms, covering the full process of screening, diagnosis, treatment planning, and follow - up.
In April 2024, United Imaging Intelligence launched the uAI Imaging Intelligence large - model base, deploying large models for text, images, and hybrid modalities, supporting more than 10 imaging modalities with an accuracy rate of over 95%. This marked the company's evolution from "tool - type AI" to an "intelligent agent".
In June this year, United Imaging Intelligence announced that it had received a capital increase of 1 billion yuan from investors such as E Fund Private Equity and Shanghai Guotou Asset Management. After the investment, its estimated valuation reached 10 billion yuan, making it a unicorn. Currently, United Imaging Healthcare's hybrid large model has been applied in AI + AR - guided flap transplantation surgeries, with dozens of cases implemented in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
2. Fourier Intelligence: Exploration from Rehabilitation Robots to Humanoid Robots
Shanghai Fourier Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in July 2015. Its founder is Gu Jie, a serial entrepreneur. The company is headquartered in the Zhangjiang High - tech Park in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai and is a globally leading enterprise in rehabilitation robots and embodied intelligence.
In the early stage, the Fourier team brought together experts in rehabilitation medicine and robotics and launched its first exoskeleton robot product. In 2015, it completed an angel round of financing of 8 million yuan, invested by Zhangjiang Hi - Tech Investment and IDG Capital, which promoted technology verification and product iteration.
From 2016 to 2018, Fourier accelerated its international layout by establishing a subsidiary in Singapore. It completed the Pre - A and A rounds of financing in total, with a financing amount exceeding 100 million yuan, focusing on the R & D of high - end rehabilitation equipment. Its products were exported to many countries.
In 2019, Fourier Intelligence completed a Series B financing of tens of millions of yuan to further expand its product line. In 2020, it raised over 200 million yuan in its Series C financing, including a Series C + financing of tens of millions of yuan in 2021, invested by the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund. In January 2022, it completed a Series D financing of 400 million yuan, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, followed by Prosperity7 Ventures and Yuanjing Capital, marking the company's transformation from rehabilitation to general - purpose robots. In the same year, Fourier started the R & D of humanoid robots.
In 2023, Fourier was included in the list of potential unicorn enterprises under key service in Shanghai. In June, it released the "Galileo" human motion quantification system, which integrates biomechanics and AI to promote the implementation of medical scenarios. In 2024, it launched the open - source humanoid robot GR - 1, covering scenarios such as academic research, medical rehabilitation, and tour guide consultation, and participated in the "Belt and Road" projects.
Benefiting from the wave of AI in healthcare and embodied intelligence, in January 2025, Fourier completed a Series E financing of nearly 800 million yuan, led by Guoxin Investment, followed by Pufa Venture Capital and Zhangjiang Hi - Tech Investment. In May, it received a strategic investment of no more than 300 million yuan from Runyang Technology. After the investment, its valuation exceeded 8 billion yuan, officially making it a unicorn.
3. Fengfei Aviation: The Leader in the Field of Autonomous Flying Vehicles
Shanghai Fengfei Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in September 2019 by a group of aviation engineers and entrepreneurs. It focuses on the R & D of eVTOL (electric vertical take - off and landing vehicle) technology with a compound - wing structure, aiming to revolutionize air travel from freight to passenger transportation.
In the early stage, Fengfei Aviation focused on prototype development. In 2021, it completed a Series A financing of $100 million, invested by International Aviation Capital. This was the largest single - transaction financing in the domestic eVTOL field at that time, promoting the company's transformation from R & D to commercialization. By then, Fengfei had initially formed a full - industrial - chain layout, including design, manufacturing, and airworthiness certification. Its products include the V2000CG "Kerry O" freight version and the Prosperity I passenger version.
In March 2023, the Prosperity I set a world record for eVTOL with a single - charge flight of 250.3 km. In the same year, it achieved the world's first eVTOL formation flight, verifying the maturity of its technology.
In 2024, Fengfei raised hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, with CATL as the sole strategic investor, further strengthening cooperation in battery technology. Its valuation exceeded $1.5 billion, marking its leap from a startup to a high - growth enterprise and making it a global eVTOL unicorn. In the same year, Fengfei completed a cross - sea and cross - city demonstration flight from Shenzhen to Zhuhai, shortening the commuting time to 20 minutes.
In July 2025, Fengfei delivered its first ton - class eVTOL V2000CG "Kerry O" and obtained the "Three Airworthiness Certificates" issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which became a milestone in the industry. Benefiting from the favorable policies for the low - altitude economy, it cooperates with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates (GACA), aiming to obtain certification for the passenger version in 2026 and become a leader in the low - altitude economy.
According to IT Juzi data, from 2024 to the first half of 2025, 6 unicorn enterprises in Shanghai dropped off the list, including situations such as going public, being acquired, and facing a shutdown crisis.
Going public: Four former unicorn enterprises in Shanghai successfully went public, all on the Hong Kong stock market.
They 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 went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2024; the hydrogen energy R & D enterprise "Reshape Energy", which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2024; and the industrial trade platform "Zhaogang Group", which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in March 2025.
Being acquired: Himalaya was acquired by Tencent Music in June this year. When Himalaya aimed to list on the US stock market in 2021, its valuation reached $5 billion. However, the total consideration for Tencent Music's acquisition of Himalaya was about $2.857 billion, a significant drop from its peak valuation.
Shutting down: Since the beginning of 2024, the former unicorn in the field of intelligent robots, "CloudMinds Technology", has successively faced issues such as salary arrears and layoffs. Hundreds of employees at its Shanghai headquarters and branches in Beijing, Shenzhen, etc., have been involved in a year - long salary - chasing dispute. Tianyancha data shows that on March 24, the company had a new enforcement target of 21.76 million yuan. At the same time, it was involved in more than 20 judicial cases, mainly related to supply - chain disputes and intellectual property litigation.
This article is from the WeChat official account "IT Juzi" (ID: itjuzi521), written by Wu Meimei, and is published by 36Kr with authorization.