Zhiyong Kaiwu Closes Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Funding to Bridge the Last Mile of AI Adoption in Factories

Introduction: AI in Industry Still Lacks the 'Last Mile'

The large language model wave has swept across industries, yet in manufacturing — one of the most complex domains — true AI deployment remains fraught with challenges. Process parameters, equipment protocols, production line logic… vast amounts of unstructured industrial knowledge stand between AI and the factory floor, forming a seemingly insurmountable gap. How to bridge the 'last mile' of AI adoption in factories is becoming the most critical question in industrial intelligent transformation.

Recently, 36Kr's Hard Tech division learned that Zhiyong Kaiwu, an industrial AI agent and high-value application company, has completed a nearly 100 million yuan Angel+ funding round. The round was led by existing investor Ruifeng Capital, with participation from Chuangxiang Investment, as well as strategic investment from Luxshare Precision's family office and its executive team. The funds will primarily be used to build the world's first industry-oriented Industrial Semantic Engine and to develop AI agents for high-value manufacturing roles.

Notably, this marks Zhiyong Kaiwu's third funding round in the past year. Since 2025, the company has successively completed investments from Ruifeng Capital, Yuzi Zhangquan, and Saiyi Information — a listed company and leader in manufacturing digitalization. The rapid funding pace stands out remarkably in the current primary market environment.

Core: A Microsoft-Pedigreed Team Forging an Industrial Semantic Engine

Zhiyong Kaiwu was founded in Guangzhou in January 2024. Despite its short history, the core team carries strong 'Microsoft DNA,' with deep reserves in both technology and industry expertise.

CEO Guan Zhen formerly served as Microsoft China's Chief Technology Advisor and is a well-known AI application expert in China. COO Zhao Ming previously held the role of Chief Architect at Microsoft's Global CTO Office, bringing extensive experience in global technology management. CTO Zhang Shanyou is a 20-time consecutive Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and a member of Tencent's Architect Hall of Fame. Other core team members hail from leading tech companies including Microsoft, Alibaba, Tencent, and IBM, combining deep technical expertise with broad industry knowledge.

On the product front, Zhiyong Kaiwu focuses on transforming complex industrial knowledge into AI-parseable and executable logic through its Industrial Semantic Engine combined with an industrial-grade multi-agent system, thereby lowering the barriers to AI deployment in industrial settings. In simple terms, the Industrial Semantic Engine acts as a 'translator' that converts specialized knowledge from the factory floor — equipment signals, process parameters, quality standards — into a language AI can understand and act upon, enabling agents to function effectively on production lines.

Unlike most software companies that remain at the digitalization layer, Zhiyong Kaiwu has genuinely penetrated the production line. The company's products natively support industrial protocols such as OPC UA (built on C#), achieving millisecond-level response times and meeting the stringent real-time and stability requirements of industrial environments. This means Zhiyong Kaiwu's system is not merely a theoretical exercise confined to the office — it can be directly embedded into production equipment and control systems to interact with the real physical world.

Analysis: Why Are Both Capital and Industry Giants Betting on This Company?

Three funding rounds in one year, plus strategic investment from a top-tier manufacturer like Luxshare Precision — Zhiyong Kaiwu's popularity warrants deeper analysis.

First, the company has chosen its track precisely. Industrial AI is widely recognized as a 'difficult but right' direction. China possesses the world's most complete manufacturing system, yet its smart manufacturing penetration rate remains relatively low. According to multiple research institutions, the industrial AI market is projected to reach hundreds of billions of yuan within the next five years. However, most AI companies struggle with 'acclimatization' when facing industrial scenarios, lacking deep understanding of industrial protocols, process workflows, and on-site environments. Zhiyong Kaiwu has targeted precisely this gap.

Second, the team's capabilities are exceptionally rare. The core challenge of industrial AI lies not only in algorithms but also in deeply integrating AI with industrial knowledge systems. Zhiyong Kaiwu's team combines world-class IT expertise with industrial scenario comprehension — a hybrid talent composition that is extremely scarce in the industry. The engineering capabilities and architectural thinking honed within the Microsoft ecosystem are exactly the 'hard skills' most needed for industrial AI deployment.

Third, customer validation is compelling. As a globally leading precision manufacturing enterprise, the strategic investment from Luxshare Precision's family office and executive team is more than a financial transaction — it represents strong industrial endorsement of Zhiyong Kaiwu's technical capabilities and deployment results. In the manufacturing sector, when customers 'vote with their feet' and even 'vote with their wallets,' it is often the most persuasive form of validation.

Additionally, Saiyi Information's participation as a leading manufacturing digitalization company signals that Zhiyong Kaiwu has already established synergies within the industrial ecosystem and is poised to accelerate scalable expansion through partners' channels and customer resources.

Outlook: The Era of Industrial AI Agents Is Arriving

From a broader perspective, the 'industrial AI agent' direction that Zhiyong Kaiwu represents is becoming a major trend in the next phase of the AI industry.

If the competitive focus of large models over the past two years was about 'who is smarter,' the next phase will shift to 'who can actually get work done.' In industrial settings, this means AI cannot merely serve as an 'advisor' — it must become a 'digital worker' capable of sensing equipment status, understanding process logic, and autonomously executing tasks. The Industrial Semantic Engine concept proposed by Zhiyong Kaiwu is designed precisely to solve this critical leap from 'understanding' to 'execution.'

Challenges certainly remain. The fragmented nature of industrial scenarios, process differences across industries, and the high demands for data security and system stability will all be tests that Zhiyong Kaiwu must face during its scaling journey. However, judging from the current funding pace, team composition, and client quality, this company — barely over a year old — has already demonstrated formidable competitiveness.

As the Industrial Semantic Engine continues to iterate and the multi-agent system matures, the day when AI truly walks into workshops and onto production lines may be closer than we think. Whether Zhiyong Kaiwu can become the key force that bridges this 'last mile' is well worth watching.