Hillhouse leads the investment, with industry investors and family offices participating. "Yushi Space" completes 200 million yuan Pre-A+ round of financing | 36Kr exclusive

Ask AI · How will the Space Android ecosystem change the competitive landscape of commercial space?

By | A-Zhi

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

In a communication three months ago, the team size of Yushi Space was around 120 people, and today that number has exceeded 170, with more than 70% being research and development personnel.

Behind the team size expansion are multiple drivers brought about by changes in technology, funding, and competitive dynamics.

According to 36Kr, Yushi Space has completed a new round of 200 million yuan Pre-A+ financing, with this round of financing led by Hillhouse Capital and Xingxiang Capital, with Minghui Zhiyuan (Hui Chuan Technology Family Office) participating, and existing shareholders Qiancheng Capital, Tuofeng Capital, Zhisheng Ruiying, and Yunqi Capital exceeding their commitments. The funds will primarily be used for rocket assembly testing, validation of recovery technology for the “chopsticks”, rocket production capacity construction, and team building.

In the field of rocket development, which is highly complex in technology, has a long engineering chain, and requires collaboration among a large number of multidisciplinary talents, funding 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 a company that 36Kr has been closely following, Yushi Space focuses on the development of high-capacity, low-cost, rapidly reusable liquid rockets, raising nearly 300 million yuan in financing within nine months. With the recent completion of a new round of financing, its cumulative financing amount has approached 500 million yuan. Correspondingly, in January of this year, Yushi Space officially delivered its first 70-meter reusable stainless steel liquid launch rocket AS-1 at its rocket development base in Hunan.

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

Yushi Space’s first 70-meter reusable stainless steel liquid launch rocket AS-1

A vaster space, a more open ecosystem

AS-1 is Yushi Space’s first low-cost, two-stage medium liquid rocket, featuring a stainless steel structure + liquid oxygen and methane propulsion, “chopsticks” capture arm recovery, and reuse method. The rocket is approximately 70 meters long, with a launch weight of about 570 tons, a body diameter of 4.2 meters, a one-time LEO orbit payload capacity of 15.7 tons, and a reusable LEO orbit payload capacity of 10 tons, primarily targeting the mid-low orbit payload launch market in the future.

One of the core goals is that Yushi Space hopes to reduce the one-time launch cost of rockets to 20,000 yuan/kg, reduce the recovery launch unit price to 10,000 yuan/kg, and ultimately shorten the rocket reuse cycle to 10 days.

In such an extremely costly field, with larger capacity, lower prices, and faster turnaround speeds, Yushi Space aims to promote equitable access to space transportation.

However, unlike past launch vehicles focused on doing “express logistics,” Yushi Space believes rocket companies are more like an ecosystem—either iOS, elegant, closed, and self-contained; or Android, open and compatible, promoting inclusivity, allowing users to not only use this system but also build their own space applications based on the platform’s capabilities.

A little over a month ago, Yushi Space’s founder and CEO, Tang Wen, first proposed the company positioning of “Space Android” at the “AS-VISION” annual ecosystem conference, hoping Yushi could build an open, shared, low-cost space transportation base platform rather than a closed system, empowering global space exploration and innovative applications.

Yushi Space’s first “AS-VISION” annual ecosystem conference

What does open sharing mean? A more immediate example in the short term is that Yushi Space has independently cultivated a supply chain system for stainless steel rocket bodies, having now mastered the entire process from the production of stainless steel raw materials to manufacturing tooling—this can bring significant cost advantages, and as production capacity is further released, the company can also open up its stainless steel rocket body production capabilities.

“The cost of Yushi Space’s self-developed stainless steel rocket bodies is one-tenth of aluminum alloy rocket bodies, with production efficiency improved several times, and the fastest delivery time is only one month,” said Yushi Space co-founder Zhu Xinwen. “Currently, several ‘brother units’ are in discussions with us regarding collaborations on stainless steel structure rocket bodies.”

But Zhu Xinwen also emphasized that in the phase of focusing on tackling technology and product validation, Yushi’s core task ahead is to prepare for the maiden flight. “First meet internal requirements, then consider external ones; once our capacity validation is achieved, we will gradually output (supply chain capabilities) externally.”

Regarding the gradual construction of the “Space Android” ecosystem and commercialization strategy, Tang Wen also provided a clear three-phase plan:

The first phase, before the successful maiden flight of AS-1, requires solidifying the “underlying drive”—which is to focus on the rocket itself.

“All resources are concentrated on technology validation and capacity building; cash flow is not the core KPI, but ‘laying eggs along the way’ is also being done, such as supply chain capability output, which serves both as a cash flow supplement and as the starting point for ecosystem connectivity.”

The second phase, from the completion of the maiden flight to achieving scaled operations, involves building the “platform layer.”

“After stable delivery of rocket capabilities, our commercial launches will become routine, but this is not simply ‘selling express delivery’; it involves deep collaboration with satellite and various aircraft customers to adapt rockets to various needs. In this phase, the more important metrics are the quality and quantity of ecosystem partners.”

The third phase, after achieving scaled operations, activates the “application layer.”

“When launch costs drop to sufficiently low levels, we will enter the ‘space consumption era’—satellites will no longer be luxuries, and universities, research institutions, and even ordinary people will have opportunities to utilize space resources. By then, Yushi Space will be both the builder and service provider of the ‘Space Android’ platform and a participant in ‘space applications.’ Yushi’s business will not just be launch services, but could also include space manufacturing, in-orbit services, and even new business models that have not yet emerged, truly realizing our ultimate vision of ‘everything in space.’”

Undoubtedly, this is a long relay race heading towards the vastness of space, requiring more forces to join in.

Becoming an athlete while also aiming to be a referee

In the past year, the commercial space track has heated up significantly. The National Space Administration has established a Commercial Space Department, various local policies have been intensively introduced, and large satellite constellation plans have been clarified, with capital and talent pouring in rapidly.

As we enter 2026, changes are happening even faster.

Zhu Xinwen feels that policies are being implemented quickly, capital is responding quickly, and talent is flowing quickly. “What used to take a year to accomplish can now happen in two or three months. Our Zhuzhou base in Hunan took just over four months from signing to delivering the first rocket, which is the best proof.”

The influx of policies and capital has brought unprecedented resource input and development space for entrepreneurial companies in the commercial space sector. Since last year, a large number of investors have begun to systematically focus on and engage with commercial space, from rockets to satellites, from upstream material innovations to downstream operational services, institutions have begun to frequently take action.

“The heat is theirs, but the progress is ours.” Even though Yushi Space’s financing speed continues to accelerate, Zhu Xinwen hopes to distinguish between external perceptions and internal rhythms. “Even if the industry is hot, we still have to build each rocket one by one, and experiments have to be done one at a time.”

By 2025, Yushi Space will have delivered the country’s first 4.2-meter stainless steel thin-walled common bottom tank, and the prototype of the hundred-ton ‘chopsticks’ capture arm will successively pass verification, with production line construction underway, the Hebei production test base has been put into operation, and the Hunan development base has started construction and production, initially forming a research and manufacturing layout of “one center + two bases.”

Yushi Space AS-1 liquid launch rocket static ignition of the second stage

Internally, Yushi Space defines 2026 as its “decisive year,” with all work centered around one core: ensuring the AS-1 rocket is ready for its maiden flight.

Breaking it down, this year’s four key tasks include: full-size capture arm prototype ground joint testing; assembly and testing of the first stage rocket for the maiden flight; static ignition testing of the first stage rocket for the maiden flight; full assembly and testing of the rocket for the maiden flight.

In terms of capacity construction, Zhu Xinwen mentioned that Yushi Space’s Zhuzhou base in Hunan is expected to fully reach production capacity this year, with the rocket recovery base starting construction. In terms of team size, by the end of this year, it aims to expand to over 300 people—a number that has doubled compared to the beginning of the year.

In a rapidly rising industry development cycle, only by organizing talent faster and gathering resources can results be achieved more quickly and scale be established.

Everything is speeding up, and competition often appears in more intense forms.

But for this group of space entrepreneurs, there is a general sense of optimism—during the phase of expanding the cake, investments in human resources, material resources, financial resources, and other resources are often benign and effective competition. Whether in supply chain construction, exploration of business models, or enriching the talent pool, it will ultimately benefit companies that persist in the right direction.

In Zhu Xinwen’s view, the current track of reusable rockets has different choices in propellants, rocket body materials, and recovery methods among various companies, but technology routes are converging, and non-consensus points will gradually decrease.

“We chose ‘stainless steel + chopsticks’ not because this route is easy, but because we firmly believe this is the lowest cost solution in the endgame. In the long run, the competitiveness of different routes will gradually widen the gap, but at this stage, regardless of who breaks through technology first or who lowers costs first, they are all paving the way for the entire industry.” Zhu Xinwen emphasized, “We are not afraid of competition; only through competition can we truly drive costs down; only by reducing costs can the space consumption era truly arrive.”

Tang Wen anticipates that the commercial space track will undergo a round of industry reshuffling in 3 to 5 years, similar to how the logistics industry has SF Express, JD, and “three links and one reach.” Based on their respective advantages and positions, no single company will dominate, and it is possible to have a strong presence of both a single leader and multiple strong players.

Within Yushi Space, the team’s belief is that they need to be athletes who charge forward vigorously; they also strive to be referees, combining their experiences as athletes to set clear standards and technical directions for this field.

“We need to both run and accompany the run; this is the role we will play in the future,” Tang Wen summarized.

Investor Perspectives

Hillhouse Capital’s investment team states: The commercial space sector has entered the 2.0 era, with enormous potential in frontier blue ocean markets such as space computing and deep space exploration, and the core prerequisite for realizing this vision is a large-scale reduction in rocket transportation costs. Yushi Space has precisely chosen the endgame technology route of “stainless steel rocket body + liquid oxygen + methane + recoverable,” integrating mature supply chain resources, demonstrating an efficient research and development model and a clear commercialization path. As the founder of Yushi, Dr. Tang Wen is young, possesses outstanding engineering capabilities, and has rapidly evolved from a scientist to an excellent technology entrepreneur in a short period of time. Under Dr. Tang’s leadership, the Yushi team has shown remarkable growth speed and strong execution power, firmly pursuing the endgame route and quickly delivering on various key milestone commitments. We believe Yushi Space is poised to become a core force in the commercial space sector. We look forward to building a future-oriented space economic ecosystem with Yushi, opening a new chapter in commercial space.

Qiancheng Capital’s investment team states: We have always firmly believed in the immense potential of space photovoltaics and space computing as future energy and information infrastructure. The commercialization of these two fields will profoundly change the way humanity utilizes space resources. The core prerequisite for realizing this vision is to have low-cost, high-capacity rocket transportation capabilities, which is the foundation for building space infrastructure. Yushi Space’s forward-looking layout in stainless steel rocket bodies, liquid oxygen and methane propulsion, and recoverable technology is key to addressing this core pain point. With its efficient technology route and strong team execution power, Yushi Space will become an important provider of future space economic infrastructure. We hope to promote the application of low-cost, high-efficiency space scenarios through investment and work together with Yushi Space to contribute to building an integrated energy and computing network between Earth and space.

Minghui Zhiyuan’s investment chairwoman, Ms. Pan Huiru, states: With over 20 years of deep industry accumulation, Minghui Zhiyuan has a profound insight into the core pain points and development needs in the high-end manufacturing field. In the fierce competition of commercial space, the ability of enterprises to convert cutting-edge technologies into commercial value is crucial. Yushi Space’s precise choice of the endgame technology route of “stainless steel rocket body + liquid oxygen + methane + recoverable” not only represents the future direction of industry development but also reflects the team’s deep understanding of technological trends and strategic determination. We particularly appreciate the efficient research and development model and strong execution power of the Yushi team, which rapidly advances the rocket development process and demonstrates the exceptional ability to turn technical blueprints into real products. With the explosion of demand for mid-low orbit satellite constellations and the growing potential of space photovoltaics and space computing, rockets with high capacity, low cost, and recoverable capabilities will become a core necessity in the market. Yushi Space, with its leading technology solutions and rapid commercialization progress, is expected to stand out in the new round of competition and grow into an important force in the commercial space sector. Minghui Zhiyuan will continue to pay attention to and support the development of Yushi Space, witnessing its opening of a new chapter in commercial space.

Xingxiang Capital’s investment team states: The commercial space sector has entered a critical stage of converging technology paths and exploding market demand. As a state-owned capital platform in Hunan Province, we highly recognize Yushi Space as a “new force in rocket manufacturing” with its latecomer advantages—having no historical burdens and directly adopting the endgame technology route of “stainless steel rocket body + liquid oxygen + methane + recoverable,” fully utilizing mature supply chains to achieve efficient research and development, showcasing outstanding technological foresight and market insight. Yushi Space is undoubtedly the “chain leader” in the commercial space sector, and the construction of its rocket assembly base will strongly drive the agglomeration of upstream and downstream industries, forming an industrial closed loop of “Hunan Star, Hunan Rocket, Hunan Launch.” Xingxiang Capital will continue to increase its support for Yushi Space and fully leverage the guiding role of state-owned capital to help Yushi Space quickly grow into a leading domestic commercial rocket manufacturer, promoting high-quality development of the commercial space industry in Hunan.