Chinese AI startup ShengShu Technology has secured significant funding, with reports indicating amounts ranging from approximately $290 million to $300 million, including a specific mention of $293 million. Alibaba Cloud led these investment rounds, which also saw participation from Baidu Ventures, TAL Education Group, and Luminous Ventures. Founded in 2023, ShengShu aims to develop a 'general world model' to process sensory information and simulate human perception, moving closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI). The company has already launched its Vidu video generation model and Motus, an AI model for controlling robots.
The increasing adoption of AI is driving substantial demand for infrastructure and power. Wedbush Fund Advisers recently launched the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Power & Infrastructure ETF (IVEP), designed to invest in companies crucial for this expansion, such as those in power generation, data centers, and semiconductor manufacturing. This initiative highlights the growing recognition that AI's growth is intrinsically linked to robust infrastructure development, with projections suggesting significant increases in data center electricity consumption by 2030.
Several companies are navigating the evolving AI landscape with varied outcomes. Sound Group Inc. reported a profit of $31.6 million in 2025, a turnaround attributed to integrating AI into its audio applications and international growth, with revenue reaching $443.7 million. Conversely, SpaceX reported a nearly $5 billion net loss, partly due to expenses from its acquisition of the AI company xAI, reflecting Elon Musk's heavy investment in AI capabilities. DataHub is expanding its sales team to meet enterprise demand for AI solutions, focusing on data governance and management for AI use cases.
AI's impact extends to financial markets and business models. Automated stock trading platforms are gaining traction amid market volatility in 2026, leveraging AI for speed and scale in executing trades. However, the travel company Navan Inc. faces significant risk, with a 'Sell' rating, as AI could reduce corporate travel headcount, directly impacting its revenue model. On a positive note for AI development, AfterQuery, an AI data company, achieved a $100 million annual revenue run rate by providing challenging training data to major AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, having raised $30 million in Series A funding.
Furthermore, cybersecurity firm Rubrik is investing heavily in AI through its Agent Cloud platform to enhance security offerings, addressing the growing enterprise need for AI security and control. Meanwhile, the Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM) is emerging as an infrastructure play for quantum computing, which could potentially optimize power grids to meet the rising energy demands of AI, indicating a broader technological convergence in the future.
Key Takeaways
- Chinese AI startup ShengShu Technology secured approximately $290-300 million in funding, led by Alibaba Cloud, to develop a 'general world model' for artificial general intelligence (AGI).
- ShengShu, founded in 2023, has launched the Vidu video generation model and the Motus robot control model.
- Wedbush Fund Advisers introduced the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Power & Infrastructure ETF (IVEP) to invest in companies supporting AI's growing energy and infrastructure demands, including power generation, data centers, and semiconductor manufacturing.
- Sound Group Inc. returned to profit in 2025 with $31.6 million, driven by AI integration into its audio applications and a 53% revenue increase to $443.7 million.
- SpaceX reported a nearly $5 billion net loss, partly due to significant investments and expenses related to its acquisition of the AI company xAI.
- DataHub is expanding its sales team to meet increasing enterprise demand for AI solutions, focusing on data governance and management.
- The travel company Navan Inc. faces a 'Sell' rating due to the risk of AI reducing corporate travel headcount, impacting its variable revenue model.
- AfterQuery, an AI data company, achieved a $100 million annual revenue run rate by providing training data on coding and finance to AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, after raising $30 million in Series A funding.
- Cybersecurity firm Rubrik is investing in AI through its Agent Cloud platform to enhance security offerings and address enterprise demand for AI security and control.
- Automated stock trading platforms are gaining interest in 2026, utilizing AI for machine learning, pattern recognition, and sentiment analysis to execute trades amid market volatility.
Chinese AI startup ShengShu raises $293 million for advanced AI
Chinese AI startup ShengShu Technology secured 2 billion yuan, about $293 million, in a funding round led by Alibaba Cloud. This investment will help ShengShu develop a 'general world model' to process sensory information and simulate human perception, moving closer to artificial general intelligence in physical environments. The company, founded in 2023, previously launched the video generation model Vidu and the robot control model Motus. Other investors in this round include Andon Haitang, China Internet Investment Fund, TAL Education Group, and Luminous Ventures.
ShengShu Technology secures $293 million for AI development
Chinese artificial intelligence startup ShengShu Technology has raised $293 million to advance its work in artificial general intelligence (AGI). The funding round was led by Alibaba Cloud, with participation from the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission. Founded in 2023, ShengShu focuses on developing large AI models and AGI, aiming to create a foundational model for the AI industry. AGI refers to AI that can perform any intellectual task a human can.
Alibaba backs AI video startup ShengShu with $300 million
Chinese startup ShengShu, known for its Vidu video generator, has received $300 million in funding led by Alibaba and supported by Baidu Ventures and Luminous Ventures. This investment aims to advance ShengShu's development of a general world model, which uses AI to connect the digital and physical worlds. The company, founded in March 2023 by Tsinghua University professor Zhu Jun, also recently open-sourced Motus, an AI model for controlling robots. Vidu has reached users globally across various industries.
ShengShu raises $290 million for AI world model development
Alibaba Cloud led a 2 billion yuan ($290 million) investment in ShengShu, the startup behind the AI video tool Vidu, with participation from TAL Education and Baidu Ventures. This funding will support ShengShu's development of a 'general world model' that uses AI to bridge digital and physical realities, aiming to advance robotics and AI that can better model real-world behavior. ShengShu believes this multimodal approach is more effective than large language models for understanding the physical world. The company also recently expanded into robotics applications with its Motus model.
New ETF IVEP focuses on AI infrastructure and power needs
Wedbush Fund Advisers has launched the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Power & Infrastructure ETF (IVEP) to invest in companies supporting the growing AI infrastructure. As AI adoption increases, so does the demand for energy and infrastructure, with AI workloads requiring more power than traditional computing. IVEP aims to provide investors access to companies in power generation, data centers, and semiconductor manufacturing that are crucial for AI's expansion. Research suggests data centers' electricity consumption could rise significantly by 2030, highlighting the need for improved infrastructure.
Wedbush launches AI Power & Infrastructure ETF (IVEP)
Wedbush Fund Advisers has introduced the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Power & Infrastructure ETF (IVEP) to invest in companies vital for AI infrastructure. The ETF targets firms in power generation, data centers, and semiconductor manufacturing, recognizing the increasing energy and infrastructure demands of AI. Prominent analyst Dan Ives emphasizes that AI's growth is tied to its infrastructure development, requiring advancements in power delivery and efficiency. IVEP offers a diversified approach to investing in the foundational elements powering the AI revolution.
Sound Group returns to profit in 2025 with AI integration
Sound Group Inc. reported a profit of $31.6 million in 2025, a significant turnaround from a $43 million loss in the previous year, driven by integrating AI into its audio applications and expanding internationally. The global AI-powered audio company saw its revenue increase by 53% to $443.7 million in 2025. Sound Group is focused on leading the AI revolution in audio, using its SoundSphere technology system which combines audio processing and AI. The company also announced a special cash dividend of $1.20 per share.
SpaceX reports $5 billion loss due to AI spending
SpaceX reported a net loss of nearly $5 billion on over $18.5 billion in revenue for the past year, according to internal figures. This loss includes expenses from xAI, the artificial intelligence company acquired by SpaceX in February. The company's revenue grew by 37 percent compared to the previous year. Elon Musk has been heavily investing in developing SpaceX's artificial intelligence capabilities, contributing to the significant spending.
DataHub expands sales team for enterprise AI demand
DataHub is strengthening its sales team to meet the growing demand from enterprises for AI solutions. The company is focusing on helping businesses structure and manage data for AI use cases, emphasizing data governance and metadata management. This strategic hiring indicates DataHub's investment in sales capacity to capture the market's need for operationalizing AI. The move suggests potential future revenue growth if the company effectively meets enterprise demands.
AI poses major risk to travel company Navan despite low valuation
Navan Inc. is rated 'Sell' due to the significant risk posed by AI potentially reducing corporate travel headcount, which impacts its revenue model. Although Navan experienced 35% year-over-year Q4 revenue growth, 90% of its revenue is variable and tied to corporate travel. The company trades at a low valuation of 2.8x EV/FY27 revenue, reflecting concerns about sustainable growth amid market challenges and thin profit margins. While AI could improve Navan's costs, broader economic volatility and declining travel demand present long-term risks.
AI bots power automated stock trading amid market volatility
Automated stock trading platforms are seeing increased interest in 2026 due to high market volatility, with the S&P 500 near 6,780 and up approximately 28% year-over-year. AI stock trading uses machine learning, pattern recognition, and sentiment analysis to execute trades automatically. These systems offer speed and scale advantages over human traders but require robust backtesting, realistic cost modeling, and risk controls. Practitioners must treat these applications as engineering systems, not guaranteed sources of profit, considering potential pitfalls like overfitting and underestimated transaction costs.
AfterQuery AI data company hits $100 million run rate
AfterQuery, an AI data company founded by Spencer Mateega and Carlos Georgescu, has achieved a $100 million annual revenue run rate just a year after pivoting its business. The company, which raised $30 million in Series A funding, competes with data labeling firms by providing training data on coding and finance to AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic. AfterQuery focuses on creating custom software systems to validate training data, ensuring it is challenging enough for AI models to learn from. Individual researchers from major AI labs participated in their funding round.
Rubrik bets on AI security with Agent Cloud platform
Cybersecurity company Rubrik is heavily investing in artificial intelligence (AI) through its Agent Cloud platform to enhance security offerings. This move aims to meet the growing enterprise demand for better AI security and control. Rubrik's expansion into AI governance and operations is seen as a key growth driver, addressing the increasing need for sophisticated solutions to protect against AI-specific threats. The Agent Cloud platform is designed to manage and secure AI environments, positioning Rubrik in the expanding AI security market.
Quantum computing ETF QTUM could rival AI's growth
The Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM) invests in the infrastructure supporting quantum computing, including semiconductor equipment and chip manufacturers like Teradyne and Micron. This ETF also holds defense contractors and pure-play quantum companies such as IonQ. QTUM is seen as an infrastructure play, potentially benefiting from quantum's role in optimizing power grids for rising AI energy demands. While quantum computing is moving towards enterprise applications, pure-play quantum companies are still in early revenue stages.
Sources
- Chinese startup ShengShu raises $293 million to advance artificial general intelligence
- Chinese startup ShengShu raises $293 million to advance artificial general intelligence
- Alibaba Leads $300 Million Bet on AI Video Generator ShengShu
- Alibaba leads $290 million investment for building a new kind of AI model as LLM limits emerge
- This Week In AI Chips - Powering AI The New ETF Revolutionizing Infrastructure Investment
- This Week In AI Chips - Powering AI The New ETF Revolutionizing Infrastructure Investment
- Sound Group Posts $31.6M In Profit For 2025, A $43M Turnaround From Prior Year Loss, As AI Transformation Takes Hold
- SpaceX Posted Nearly $5 Billion Loss Last Year from AI Spending
- DataHub Strengthens Sales Team to Target Enterprise AI Demand
- Navan: While Dirt Cheap, AI Is A Major Risk For This Company
- AI Bots Power Automated Stock Trading Platforms
- This 23 Year-Old’s New AI Data Company Has Already Hit A $100 Million Run Rate
- Rubrik Bets Big on AI Security: Is Agent Cloud a Growth Driver?
- The Quantum Computing ETF That Could Be Bigger Than AI, and 2 Tech Funds Riding the Same Wave
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