[FINANCIAL] AI Video / World Models ·
China AI · Series B Growth —
April 10, 2026 — COMPLETED
Alibaba Cloud Leads $292.6M Series B for
ShengShu Technology — China's AI Video Pioneer Pivots to World Models and
Physical AI
Alibaba Cloud writes its largest single check to any Chinese AI
startup: ¥2 billion ($292.6 million) into ShengShu Technology — the Beijing
startup behind Vidu, the AI video generator that beat OpenAI's Sora to global
release by months and is now used in over 200 countries — as ShengShu pivots
its roadmap toward "general world models" capable of bridging digital
simulation and physical reality, a foundational requirement for the next
generation of humanoid robots and embodied AI.
DEAL SNAPSHOT
|
ROUND AMOUNT ¥2.0 Billion ($292.6
Million) — Series B |
TOTAL 2026 FUNDING ~$380M in 2026 alone
(including prior ¥600M Series A+) |
|
LEAD INVESTOR Alibaba Cloud (Alibaba
Group's cloud division) |
VIDU GLOBAL REACH >200 countries;
>10x user and revenue growth in 2025 |
|
COMPLETED April 10, 2026 |
COMPANY FOUNDED 2023 (Tsinghua
University — CEO Zhu Jun) |
THE PARTIES
|
LEAD INVESTOR Alibaba Cloud + Andon
Haitang + China Internet Investment Fund + TAL Education + Baidu Ventures +
Luminous Ventures Alibaba Cloud
(Hangzhou): the cloud computing and AI division of Alibaba Group Holding.
Leading the round, Alibaba Cloud gains strategic access to ShengShu's world
model technology and Vidu's content generation capabilities — integrating
cutting-edge AI video and physical world simulation into its cloud platform.
Andon Haitang: tech-focused investment firm. China Internet Investment Fund:
Chinese government-backed internet industry investment fund. TAL Education
Group: Chinese education company (strategic interest in AI-powered learning
tools). Baidu Ventures: investment arm of Chinese search and AI giant Baidu
(existing investor). Luminous Ventures: tech-focused VC. Two months prior,
ShengShu raised ¥600M from Qiming Venture Partners and other backers — indicating
extraordinary fundraising velocity. |
COMPANY / RECIPIENT ShengShu Technology
(Beijing) Beijing-based
AI company. Founder and Chief Scientist: Zhu Jun (Tsinghua University
professor). Founded March 2023. Primary product: Vidu — China's first and
most advanced AI video generation model. Vidu became the first Chinese AI
video model when launched April 2024 (months before OpenAI's now-discontinued
Sora was released). Vidu Q3 Pro (January 2026): ranks top 10 globally for AI
video generation. Global reach: 200+ countries; 10x user and revenue growth
in 2025; partnerships with 90%+ of China's film and entertainment content
industry. New direction: "General World Model" — an AI system built
on multimodal data (video, audio, touch) to simulate and understand physical
reality, enabling embodied AI applications (humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles,
industrial automation). Also developed: Motus (December 2025) — open-sourced
robot control model. |
DEAL OVERVIEW
ShengShu
Technology closed its ¥2 billion ($292.6 million) Series B led by Alibaba Cloud
on April 10, 2026. The round included Andon Haitang, China Internet Investment
Fund, TAL Education Group, Baidu Ventures, and Luminous Ventures. This was
ShengShu's second major raise in approximately two months: the company had
previously raised ¥600 million from Qiming Venture Partners and other backers
in February 2026. The pace signals exceptional investor urgency in the Chinese
AI video and world model space.
Crucially,
ShengShu's stated use of funds is no longer primarily about scaling Vidu (which
is already profitable and growing): the ¥2 billion will primarily support the
development of a "General World Model" — an AI system designed to
process multimodal sensory data (video, audio, physical touch) in order to
model and simulate how the physical world works. This is fundamentally
different from large language models (trained on text to predict words) and
positions ShengShu at the intersection of two of the hottest areas in AI: AI
video generation and embodied AI/robotics.
"ShengShu believes that a general world model, built on
multimodal data such as vision, audio, and touch, more naturally captures how
the physical world works than large language models. We aim to connect
perception and action."
— Zhu Jun,
Founder & Chief Scientist, ShengShu Technology
INVESTORS
Lead
(Series B): Alibaba Cloud
New
Investors: Andon Haitang + China
Internet Investment Fund + TAL Education Group + Luminous Ventures
Existing
Investors (reinvesting): Baidu
Ventures
Prior Round
(Feb 2026, ¥600M Series A+): Qiming
Venture Partners + others