The six rising stars in Hangzhou are going to go public again.
According to Tian Tian IPO of the investment community, Hangzhou DeepClouds Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "DeepClouds") recently launched its listing guidance, with CSC Financial Co., Ltd. serving as the guidance institution.
With the dream of "letting robots out of the laboratory", in 2017, Zhu Qiuguo and Li Chao, alumni of Zhejiang University, jointly founded DeepClouds, and since then, robotic dogs have come into the public view. After eight rounds of financing, it has become the third company among the "Six Little Dragons of Hangzhou" to strive for an IPO after GroupCore Technology and Unitree Technology.
"Turn those who are good at learning into those who are good at creating." This is the talent cultivation concept of Zhejiang University's Zhu Kezhen College. Amidst the ups and downs, a group of hard - technology companies affiliated with Zhejiang University have quietly emerged, becoming a powerful footnote in China's innovation narrative.
Zhejiang University Doctors Join Hands, and the Robotic Dog is Heading for IPO
This story starts with a young man from Zhejiang.
Born in Haining, Zhejiang in 1982, Zhu Qiuguo has had a strong interest in machinery since childhood. He was admitted to the major of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering at Zhejiang University for his undergraduate studies and studied Control Science and Engineering during his postgraduate studies. It was also during this period that he got involved in the bipedal robot "Wukong" project and decided to stay at the university to conduct research on robots.
Zhu Qiuguo, the founder of DeepClouds
At that time, a video of the quadruped robot "Big Dog" from Boston, USA, quickly went viral and deeply touched Zhu Qiuguo. When will China have its own high - performance robots? The seed of entrepreneurship quietly germinated.
In the autumn of 2017, Zhu Qiuguo and Dr. Li Chao, who also came from the Zhejiang University laboratory, hit it off and jointly founded DeepClouds Technology. The company's name comes from the Tang poem "A Journey in the Mountains" - "A winding path leads far away up the cold mountain, where in the deep clouds there are cottages." It carries the vision of bringing intelligent robots into thousands of households.
Just one year after its establishment, the company launched its first - generation self - developed quadruped robot, which was also the first domestic quadruped robot capable of going up and down stairs and autonomous navigation at that time. The name "Jueying" of the robot is derived from the mount of Cao Cao in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", implying the boldness of "leaving others far behind and being hard to surpass".
However, at that time, the technology was not fully mature, and the first - generation Jueying couldn't even climb over the curb, let alone be used in commercial applications. The turning point came in 2020 when China Southern Power Grid actively contacted Zhu Qiuguo and inquired whether they could try using robotic dogs for substation inspections. Since then, power inspections have gradually spread as the core scenario.
In 2021, Jueying X20, designed for bad weather, was born. It successfully reached the IP66 protection level and became the first domestic quadruped robot product truly suitable for industry - level applications. The cost of the robotic dog with the same performance is only one - third to one - half of that of Boston Dynamics.
From the official account of DeepClouds Technology
After that, DeepClouds further extended its reach to humanoid robots and wheel - legged robots. In 2024, it launched its first humanoid robot, Dr.01, and in April 2025, it released the medium - sized wheel - legged robot Lynx M20, which is the world's first industry - level wheel - legged robot designed for complex terrains, expanding the application boundaries.
Currently, DeepClouds has taken the lead in implementing more than 600 industry projects, covering fields such as power energy, emergency fire protection, security patrol, education and scientific research, building surveying and mapping, traffic tunnels, and cultural entertainment.
Behind it, a luxurious team has emerged - the core team is composed of master's and doctoral students from top universities such as Zhejiang University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harbin Institute of Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, ETH Zurich, and Georgia Institute of Technology, with a total scale of nearly 400 people.
Investors are Flocking In
"A very down - to - earth person, very humble, and his story is not that fascinating, but he shows very strong control ability in quadruped robots." Chen Xiangming, the founder of Ginkgo Valley Capital, once evaluated Zhu Qiuguo like this. In July 2018, DeepClouds received angel - round financing from Ginkgo Valley Capital and Daosheng Capital.
Subsequently, DeepClouds successively completed Series A and Series A+ financings. The investors included Innoangel Fund, Yuanhe Origin, and Saizhi Bole, etc.
Soon, VC/PE firms queued up to visit. In October 2022, the company completed its Series B financing, led by Fangguang Capital, with follow - on investments from West Lake Science and Technology Innovation Investment and old shareholder Saizhi Bole. Two years later, the company announced the completion of Series B+ financing. The investors included Hansong Asset Management, Huajian Function, Shenzhen Intelligence City Industrial Investment, and Moganshan State - owned Assets Control Group, etc.
In 2025, DeepClouds' financing pace became more intensive. In just half a year, it successively completed three rounds of financing -
In July, it completed a pre - Series C financing of nearly 500 million yuan, jointly led by Fortune Capital and Guoxin Fund, with follow - on investments from Beijing Robot Industry Development Investment Fund, Qianhai Mother Fund, CCTV Media Convergence Fund, Fuzhe Fund, Huaying Capital, Wuchan Zhongda Investment, etc., and additional investments from old shareholders such as Junshan Capital, Fangguang Capital, Aishide Intelligence City Fund, and Daosheng Capital.
When talking about this investment, Guoxin Fund said that embodied intelligence is the next wave of artificial intelligence. DeepClouds Technology has full - stack self - research capabilities in key areas such as robot motion control, multi - modal perception, and autonomous decision - making. Its technology maturity and mass - production capabilities are leading in China, which is in line with the national strategic layout of developing "new - quality productivity".
Not long ago, the company announced the completion of a Series C financing of over 500 million yuan, led by CMBC International and Huaxia Fund. Funds under China Telecom and China Unicom participated in the strategic investment. The follow - on investors included Yunhui Capital, SMIC Juyuan, Zhejiang University Foundation, Shoucheng Holdings, Fortune Capital, Qianhai Ark, CCTV Media Convergence Fund, Beijing Robot Industry Development Investment Fund, Huaying Capital, etc.
The latest round of financing took place recently. DeepClouds completed a Pre - IPO round of financing of hundreds of millions of yuan, led by the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Fund, with follow - on investment from JD.com.
Actually, there were early signs of DeepClouds' IPO. In November last year, the company completed its shareholding reform and changed its name to "Hangzhou DeepClouds Technology Co., Ltd." The enterprise type also changed from "other limited liability company" to "other joint - stock limited company (non - listed)". So far, together with GroupCore Technology, which has submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Unitree Technology, which has completed its IPO guidance, half of the "Six Little Dragons of Hangzhou" have embarked on the listing journey.
The Outburst of Zhejiang University - Affiliated Companies
Looking back, the scenes in 2025 have shocked the venture capital circle.
From the popularity of DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics at the beginning of the year, to the collective appearance of the "Six Little Dragons of Hangzhou" in the public view, and then to the recent listings of Moore Threads and Muxi, two IPOs with a market value of 300 billion yuan were born on the Science and Technology Innovation Board in just half a month.
Among them, the figures affiliated with Zhejiang University are faintly visible -
Zhang Yubo, the co - founder, director, and deputy general manager of Moore Threads, graduated from the major of Information and Computational Science at Zhejiang University in 2007;
Yang Jian, the co - founder and CTO of Muxi, is a doctor of Computer Application Technology from Zhejiang University's class of 2002;
From the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, class of 2002 at Zhejiang University, Liang Wenfeng of DeepSeek emerged. Huang Xiaohuang and Chen Hang, who were admitted to Zhejiang University's Zhu Kezhen College the next year, have brought GroupCore Technology to the verge of going public. Coupled with Zhu Qiuguo and Li Chao, the founders of DeepClouds, half of the "Six Little Dragons of Hangzhou" are from Zhejiang University.
"Zhejiang University may not be the university with the strongest scientific research in the country, but it must be the university with the highest entrepreneurship rate." From Shi Yuzhu and Duan Yongping in the early days to the competition among heroes in the hard - technology era, this has become the consensus among Zhejiang University alumni after generations of inheritance.
Why is it Zhejiang University? We have to mention Zhu Kezhen College. Originating from the mixed - class program at Zhejiang University in 1984, the college adopts a "2+2" cultivation model, encouraging students to study in emerging and interdisciplinary fields. The "Innovation and Entrepreneurship Intensive Program" (ITP) established later has produced well - known entrepreneurs such as Huang Zheng of Pinduoduo.
Starting from the classroom and growing in practice, various innovation and entrepreneurship courses, including general, professional, interdisciplinary, and minor systems, have made Zhejiang University a cradle for incubating CEOs. A set of data shows that more than 80% of undergraduates at Zhejiang University carry out various forms of innovation and practice research, forming a closed - loop of "knowledge - capital - industry".
The criss - cross alumni network has laid the foundation for innovation and entrepreneurship. With more than 140 local alumni organizations, the Zhejiang University Education Foundation is one of the richest alumni foundations in the country. According to the "Blue Book of Zhejiang University Alumni Economy", only the top 12 Zhejiang University - affiliated investment institutions have cumulatively invested in more than 430 projects of Zhejiang University, with a cumulative investment amount of more than 12 billion yuan.
Looking back 88 years ago, Zhu Kezhen, the then president of Zhejiang University, put forward the "seeking - truth spirit", which means not only to be based on reality but also to verify ideals. Now, such a spirit has begun to take root in the technology world beyond the campus banners.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Tian Tian IPO", author: Yu Mengying, published by 36Kr with authorization.