Shexu (设序科技) closes Series B — 300 million yuan raised in total for industrial AI design

Chinese startup Shexu (设序科技) closed a Series B of more than 100 million yuan (about $14 million) in July 2026, bringing its total funding to 300 million yuan (~$42 million). According to 36Kr, the money will go toward expanding into Europe and developing an industrial AI model.

What the Zexing AI platform can do

Zexing AI (则形AI) is a cloud-based agent platform for hardware engineering: from an engineer's text prompt, it generates a 3D model of a part and 2D drawings. It runs on Shexu's own industrial "world model," linked to a large language model. Shexu was founded in 2020, and its product is already used in the automotive industry, consumer electronics (3C) and energy, as well as in commercial spaceflight and robotics.

• Series B: more than 100 million yuan; cumulative funding exceeds 300 million yuan
• Investors: Shenzhen Capital (深产投), Heding (合鼎共) and existing shareholder Yonghua Investment (涌铧投资)
• Founded in 2020; CEO Wu Yongrong holds a PhD in advanced manufacturing from Tongji University
• Clients: Honda, Dongfeng, Yutong, CRRC, China Automotive Engineering
• Contracts in the first half of 2026 grew by roughly 70% year over year

How AI designs a part

The platform handles an order in three steps, each driven by a separate type of AI. Geometric AI (the 3D Agent) builds the exact shape of the part, physical AI calculates its strength, stiffness, flows and magnetic fields, and manufacturing AI (the 2D Agent) assesses manufacturability. The physical AI that ties these together is still at the POC validation stage.

"We want to build a universal AI entry point for hardware engineering.

The user states the requirements, and the AI carries them out in three steps — first the geometric AI designs the exact shape, then the physical AI solves for its strength, stiffness, flow or magnetic field, and finally the manufacturing AI assesses manufacturability," — Wu Yongrong, founder and CEO of Shexu, in an interview with 36Kr.

Will AI replace engineers?

AI will not replace engineers entirely, but it will redistribute their work, the company's founder believes. In his words, the ideal scenario is for AI to take over 80% of routine operations while the engineer focuses on the 20% that involves creative decisions and non-standard cases. Wu Yongrong expects the "GPT moment" for industrial world models within 3–5 years at most — when AI reaches L4–L5 autonomy, as in self-driving.

"Until AGI arrives, humans will not be replaced, but an engineer who cannot work with AI will be replaced by an engineer who can," —

Wu Yongrong, CEO of Shexu.

Why the company is going to Europe

Shexu has declared 2026 its year of international expansion, with a focus on Europe. The company has already signed its first "seed" client in Germany, and in the first half of 2026 it completed preparations for compliance with EU data requirements. In the second half, Shexu expects to onboard about 10 clients; in 2027 it plans to scale up in Europe while preparing the markets of Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Another growth driver is the RAAS (Result as a Service) delivery model, which accounts for roughly a third of annual revenue; the company forecasts about 200 million yuan for the full year, almost double last year's figure.

What this means

Industrial "world models" are moving out of the lab and into commercial use: generative AI is starting to design real parts for the automotive and energy industries, not just text and images. Shexu's round shows that investors are willing to back narrow engineering verticals of AI, not only general-purpose chatbots.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Shexu raise?

The Series B was more than 100 million yuan, and the company has raised over 300 million yuan in total. Its investors include Shenzhen Capital, Heding and existing shareholder Yonghua Investment.

What is Zexing AI?

Zexing AI (则形AI) is a cloud-based agent platform that generates 3D models of parts and 2D drawings for engineers from a text description. It is built on Shexu's own industrial world model and is already used in the automotive, electronics and energy industries.

Who are Shexu's clients?

Clients include Honda, Dongfeng, Yutong, CRRC and China Automotive Engineering. In the first half of 2026, contract volume grew by roughly 70% year over year.