Volant Aerotech, a company based in Shanghai, has secured over 1,900 orders for its VE25-100 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, totaling more than $66 billion (475 billion yuan). Furthermore, the company successfully completed China's first piloted transition flight and underwent corporate restructuring in preparation for an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
According to founder and CEO Dun Min, the company restructured into a joint-stock company, increasing its registered capital sevenfold, which qualifies it for A-share listing. At the end of May, Volant reached a significant milestone by executing China's first piloted transition flight of a commercial passenger eVTOL. This maneuver, where the aircraft transitions from vertical rotor ascent to horizontal cruise flight on its wings, is considered one of the most technically complex flight modes.
Thanks to this flight, Volant became the third company globally—after American Joby Aviation and British Vertical Aerospace—to achieve a piloted transition. In the last two months, the company raised nearly $4.2 billion in Series C and C+ rounds. Founder Dun Min, who has experience with GE, the ARJ21 regional jet program, and the C919 large passenger jet program, founded Volant in 2021. The name Volant originates from French and is associated with the graceful flight of predatory birds.
Volant's team, comprising over 200 people, primarily consists of specialists who have worked in the development system of large civil aircraft. The VE25-100 model features a composite wing, has a maximum takeoff weight of 2.5 tons, a cruising speed of 235 km/h, and a range of 200 to 400 km. It is designed for one pilot and five passengers. Operating costs per seat are estimated at only $8.3 for a 5-minute flight covering 20 km, which is approximately eight to ten times less than traditional helicopters, thanks to the electric powertrain and the enhanced aerodynamic efficiency of the composite wing design.
The type certification application for the VE25-100 was submitted in September 2023, with all special certification plans completed last year. The company plans to receive certification next year. Dun Min stated that the company's development pace ranks among the top three globally in the commercial passenger eVTOL sector. Additionally, Volant received its first confirmed order from China Southern Airlines General Aviation, validating the viability of the commercial model. The $66 billion in orders, coming from both domestic and international clients, reflects the strategic importance China places on the low-altitude economy. Volant positions itself as a leading player in the commercial passenger eVTOL sector in China, aiming to be the first company to receive type certification and scale up production in the country.
Zhipingfang, a company specializing in embodied artificial intelligence, has completed a new funding round of approximately 5 billion yuan, which raised the company's total valuation above the 20 billion yuan mark, or about $2.8 billion. This breakthrough marks an important moment for the embodied AI sector in China, as Zhipingfang is the first company in the Greater Bay Area whose embodied AI unicorn has exceeded the threshold of 200 billion yuan.
The funding round demonstrated an unprecedented combination of various capital sources. These included state industrial funds, such as the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund and the Chinese Culture System Fund, as well as provincial AI funds, insurance companies, securities firms, and industrial investors like China Biologic Products (CP Group), Pharmaron, Moutai Group, and China Merchants Capital. Existing investors, including Fortune Capital, Dunhong Asset Management, and Daodeli Investment, also participated in the round.
Zhipingfang's rapid growth is driven by the NeuroVLA technology, which the company positions as the world's first brain-mimicking embodied intelligence architecture. This system draws inspiration directly from the human nervous system, structuring computations into three distinct levels: a cortical module for high-level semantic reasoning ('the brain'), a cerebellar module for coordinated motor control, and a spinal impulse module for ultra-low latency reflex responses.
Zhipingfang's CEO and founder, Dr. Guo Yandun, presented this technology at the Davos Forum in the summer. Premier Li Qiang specifically highlighted Shenzhen's Robotics Valley—where Zhipingfang is headquartered—as an example of China's innovative ecosystem.
The core idea behind NeuroVLA is that traditional AI architectures process the entire incoming data stream without discrimination, consuming full computational power regardless of task complexity. In contrast, the human brain functions based on event-based processing, using approximately 86 billion neurons while consuming only 20 watts. NeuroVLA replicates this efficiency by directing high-frequency, low-latency feedback control to lower processing levels, freeing up the higher 'cortex' for complex semantic analysis.
Zhipingfang's sharp rise in valuation—from 10 billion yuan to over 20 billion yuan in just four months—indicates a broader market shift. The focus is now moving from discussing the future of robotics to identifying the companies that can realize that promise. The company has conducted 12 funding rounds in one year, making it the fastest and most scalable embodied AI startup in the industry in terms of fundraising pace.
