Hillhouse Capital leads the investment, industrial investors and family offices participate, and "Yushi Space" completes a Pre-A+ round of financing of RMB 200 million | Exclusive report from 36Kr

Text | Azhi

Yushi Space has been established for less than two years and has always been advancing the expansion of the team and the engineering implementation of technology at an extreme speed.

During a communication three months ago, the team size of Yushi Space was around 120 people. As of today, this number has exceeded 170, with more than 70% being R & D personnel.

Behind the expansion of the team size are multiple drivers brought about by changes in technology, capital, and the competitive situation.

36Kr has learned that Yushi Space has completed a new round of 200 million yuan Pre - A+ round of financing. This round of financing was jointly led by Hillhouse Venture Capital and Xingxiang Capital, with Minghui Zhiyuan (Huichuan Technology Family Office) participating in the investment. Old shareholders such as Qiancheng Capital, Tuofeng Capital, Zhisheng Ruiying, and Yunqi Capital over - subscribed. The funds will be mainly used for rocket final assembly and testing, chopstick recovery technology verification, rocket production capacity construction, and team building.

In the field of rocket development, which is highly technically complex, has a long engineering chain, and requires the collaboration of a large number of interdisciplinary talents, capital and team size are just the starting point. The product of talent density, capital efficiency, and organizational efficiency needs to be more directly reflected in the engineering progress.

As an enterprise that 36Kr has been following for a long time, Yushi Space focuses on the development of large - capacity, low - cost, and rapidly reusable liquid rockets. It has raised nearly 300 million yuan in cumulative financing within nine months. With the new round of financing recently completed, its cumulative financing has approached 500 million yuan. Corresponding to the financing speed, in January this year, Yushi Space officially delivered its first 70 - meter - class reusable stainless - steel liquid launch vehicle AS - 1 at its rocket development base in Hunan.

This group of rocket builders completed a breakthrough from 0 to 1 in less than 20 months.

Yushi Space's first 70 - meter - class reusable stainless - steel liquid launch vehicle AS - 1

A Vaster Space, a More Open Ecosystem

AS - 1 is the first low - cost two - stage medium - sized liquid rocket launched by Yushi Space. It uses a stainless - steel structure + liquid oxygen methane power, and the "chopstick" capture arm for recovery and reuse. The rocket is about 70 meters long, with a take - off weight of about 570 tons, a rocket body diameter of 4.2 meters, a one - time LEO orbit carrying capacity of 15.7 tons, and a reusable LEO orbit carrying capacity of 10 tons. In the future, it will mainly target the launch market for medium and low - orbit payloads.

A set of core goals is that Yushi Space hopes to reduce the one - time launch cost of the rocket to 20,000 yuan per kilogram, the recovered launch unit price to 10,000 yuan per kilogram, and ultimately shorten the rocket reuse cycle to 10 days.

In such an extremely expensive field, with greater carrying capacity, lower price, and faster turnover speed, Yushi Space wants to promote the equalization of space transportation capacity.

However, different from past launch vehicle companies that focused on the "express logistics" business, Yushi Space believes that a rocket company is more like an ecosystem - either like iOS, elegant, closed, and self - contained; or like Android, open, compatible, and equalizing. Users can not only use this system but also build their own space applications based on the platform's capabilities.

More than a month ago, Tang Wen, the founder and CEO of Yushi Space, first proposed the company's positioning as the "Space Android" at the "AS - VISION" annual ecological conference. He hopes that Yushi can build an open and shared low - cost space transportation infrastructure platform rather than a closed system to empower global space exploration and innovative applications.

Yushi Space's first "AS - VISION" annual ecological conference

What does open sharing mean? To give a more intuitive example in the short term, Yushi Space has independently cultivated the supply chain system for stainless - steel rocket bodies and currently independently masters the entire process of stainless - steel raw material production, process tooling, etc. - on the one hand, this can bring great cost advantages, and as production capacity is further released, the company can also open up its stainless - steel rocket body production capacity to the outside world.

"The cost of the stainless - steel rocket body self - developed by Yushi Space is one - tenth of that of the aluminum - alloy rocket body, and the production efficiency has increased several times. The fastest delivery time only takes one month." Zhu Xinwen, the co - founder of Yushi Space, mentioned. "Currently, several 'brother units' have contacted us about cooperation on stainless - steel structure rocket bodies."

But Zhu Xinwen also emphasized that at the stage of concentrating on technological research and product verification, Yushi's next core task is to prepare for the first flight. "First meet internal needs, then consider external ones. After the subsequent mass - production capacity is verified, we will gradually output (supply chain capabilities) to the outside world."

Regarding the gradual construction of the "Space Android" ecosystem and the commercialization idea, Tang Wen also gave a clear three - stage plan:

In the first stage, before the successful first flight of AS - 1, it is necessary to consolidate the "underlying drive" - that is, focus on the rocket itself.

"All resources are focused on technological verification and production capacity construction. Cash flow is not the core KPI, but 'laying eggs along the way' is also being done, such as the output of supply chain capabilities. These are not only a supplement to cash flow but also the starting point for ecological connection."

In the second stage, from the completion of the first flight to the realization of large - scale operation, it is necessary to build the "platform layer".

"After the rocket's capabilities are stably delivered, our commercial launches will also become the norm. But this is not a simple 'express delivery' business. Instead, it is to deeply collaborate with satellite and various aircraft customers to make the rocket adapt to various needs. In this stage, the more important indicators are the quality and quantity of ecological partners."

In the third stage, after large - scale operation is realized, activate the "application layer".

"When the launch cost drops low enough, the 'space consumption era' will arrive - satellites will no longer be a luxury, and universities, research institutions, and even ordinary people will have the opportunity to use space resources. By then, Yushi Space will not only be the builder and service provider of the 'Space Android' platform but also a participant in'space applications'. Yushi's business will not only be launch services but may also include space manufacturing, in - orbit services, and even new business forms that have not emerged yet. We can truly achieve our ultimate vision of 'Everything in Space'."

There is no doubt that this is a long relay race towards the vast space, and more forces are needed to join in.

Be an Athlete and Strive to Be a Referee

In the past year, the commercial space track has become extremely popular. The National Space Administration has established a commercial space department, local special policies have been intensively introduced, and the plans for giant satellite constellations have been clarified. Capital and talents are pouring in at an accelerated pace.

In 2026, changes are happening even faster.

Zhu Xinwen's perception is that policies are implemented quickly, capital reacts quickly, and talents flow quickly. "Things that used to take a year to accomplish may now be completed in two or three months. The fact that it only took a little over four months from the signing of the contract to the delivery of the first rocket at our base in Zhuzhou, Hunan, is the best proof."

The intensive influx of policies and capital has brought unprecedented resource investment and development space to this wave of start - up companies in the commercial space field. Since last year, a large number of investors have begun to systematically pay attention to and contact the commercial space industry. From rockets to satellites, from upstream material innovation to downstream operation services, institutions have started to make frequent investments.

"The popularity belongs to others, and the progress is our own." Even though Yushi Space's financing speed continues to accelerate, Zhu Xinwen hopes to distinguish the external perception from the internal rhythm. "No matter how hot the industry is, we still have to build rockets one by one and conduct tests one by one."

In 2025, Yushi Space delivered the first 4.2 - meter stainless - steel thin - walled common - bottom tank in China, and key components such as the prototype of the hundred - ton - class 'chopstick' capture arm were successively verified. In terms of production line construction, the production and test base in Hebei was put into operation, and the development base in Hunan started construction and was put into operation, initially forming a R & D and manufacturing layout of "one center + two bases".

Static ignition of the second stage of Yushi Space's AS - 1 liquid launch vehicle

Within the company, Yushi Space defines 2026 as its "decisive year", and all work revolves around one core: to make the AS - 1 rocket ready for its first flight.

Breaking it down one by one, the four key tasks this year include: ground joint test of the full - scale capture arm prototype; final assembly and testing of the first stage of the first - flight rocket; static ignition test of the first stage of the first - flight rocket; final assembly and testing of the entire first - flight rocket.

In terms of production capacity construction, Zhu Xinwen mentioned that the Zhuzhou base in Hunan of Yushi Space will reach full production this year, and the rocket recovery base will start construction. In terms of team size, by the end of this year, it will be expanded to more than 300 people, a number that has doubled compared to the beginning of the year.

In a rapidly rising industry development cycle, only by organizing talents and gathering resources faster can we get results faster and build scale.

Everything is getting faster, and competition often appears in a more intense form.

But for this group of space entrepreneurs, they generally remain optimistic - in the stage of expanding the market, the investment of human, material, financial, and other resources is often a benign and effective competition. Whether it is supply chain construction, business model exploration, or the enrichment of the talent pool, it will ultimately benefit enterprises that adhere to the correct direction.

In Zhu Xinwen's view, in the current reusable rocket track, different companies have different choices in propellants, rocket body materials, and recovery methods, but the technical routes are converging, and the non - consensus points will gradually decrease.

"We chose'stainless steel + chopsticks' not because this path is easy, but because we firmly believe that this is the lowest - cost solution in the end. In the long run, the competitiveness of different routes will gradually show a gap, but at this stage, no matter who breaks through the technology first and who reduces the cost first, they are all paving the way for the entire industry." Zhu Xinwen emphasized. "We are not afraid of competition. Only through competition can the cost be truly reduced; only when the cost is reduced will the space consumption era truly arrive."

Tang Wen predicts that the commercial space track will undergo a round of industry reshuffle in 3 to 5 years. Just like in the logistics industry, there are SF Express, JD Logistics, and the "Three Links and One Da", each with its own advantages and positioning, and no single company will dominate. At that time, it is possible to form a situation where one company is dominant and several others are strong, or multiple strong companies coexist.

Within Yushi Space, the team's view is that they should not only be athletes and strive forward vigorously but also strive to be referees, using their experience as athletes to define standards and technical directions for this field.

"We need to both participate in the race and accompany others in the race. This is the role we will play in the future." Tang Wen summarized.

Views of the Investors

The investment team of Hillhouse Venture Capital said: The commercial space industry has entered the 2.0 era. The frontier blue - ocean markets such as space computing power and deep - space exploration have great potential, and the core prerequisite for realizing this vision is a large - scale reduction in rocket transportation costs. Yushi Space has precisely chosen the end - game technical route of'stainless - steel rocket body + liquid oxygen methane + reusable', integrated mature supply chain resources, and demonstrated an efficient R & D model and a clear commercialization path. As the founder of Yushi, Dr. Tang Wen is young, has excellent engineering capabilities, and has rapidly evolved from a scientist to an outstanding technology - based entrepreneur in a short period. Under the leadership of Dr. Tang Wen, the Yushi team has shown amazing growth speed and strong execution ability, firmly followed the end - game route, and been able to quickly fulfill various key milestone commitments. We believe that Yushi Space is expected to become a core force in the commercial space field. We look forward to jointly building a future - oriented space economic ecosystem with Yushi and opening a new chapter in commercial space.

The investment team of Qiancheng Capital said: We have always been firmly optimistic about the great potential of space photovoltaics and space computing power as future energy and information infrastructure. The commercialization of these two fields will profoundly change the way humans use space resources. The core prerequisite for realizing this vision is to have low - cost, large - capacity rocket transportation capabilities, which are the cornerstone for building space infrastructure. Yushi Space's forward - looking layout in stainless - steel rocket bodies, liquid oxygen methane power, and reusable technology is the key to solving this core pain point. With its efficient technical route and strong team execution ability, Yushi Space will become an important infrastructure provider for the future space economy. We hope to jointly promote the application of low - cost and high - efficiency space scenarios with Yushi Space through investment and contribute to the construction of an integrated space - ground energy and computing power network.

Ms. Pan Huiru, the investment chairman of Minghui Zhiyuan, said: With more than 20 years of in - depth experience in the industry, Minghui Zhiyuan has a profound understanding of the core pain points and development needs in the high - end manufacturing field. In the fierce competition in the commercial space industry, the core ability of an enterprise to transform cutting - edge technology into commercial value is crucial. Yushi Space has precisely chosen the end - game technical route of'stainless - steel rocket body + liquid oxygen methane + reusable', which not only represents the future direction of the industry but also reflects the team's profound understanding of technological trends and strategic determination. We particularly recognize the efficient R & D model and strong execution ability of the Yushi team, which has rapidly advanced the rocket development process and demonstrated the excellent ability to turn the technological blueprint into a real product. With the explosion of the demand for medium and low - orbit satellite constellation construction and the growing potential of space photovoltaics and space computing power, rockets with large - capacity, low - cost, and reusable capabilities will become the core market demand. With its leading technical solution and rapid commercialization progress, Yushi Space is expected to stand out in the new round of competition and grow into an important force in the commercial space field. Minghui Zhiyuan will continue to pay attention to and support the development of Yushi Space and jointly witness it opening a new chapter in commercial space.

The investment team of Xingxiang Capital said: The commercial space industry has entered a critical stage where technical routes are converging and market demand is exploding. As a state - owned capital platform in Hunan Province, we highly recognize the late - comer advantage of Yushi Space as a "new force in rocket building" - it has no historical burden, directly adopts the end - game technical route of'stainless - steel rocket body + liquid