刚拿到50亿投资的上海独角兽 迎来了他们的新董事长

StepFun Celestial completes major funding round and launches strategic upgrade, delivering key insights and practical takeaways.

Key Company Developments:

1. Secured nearly ¥5 billion in Series B+ funding from Shanghai Guotou, Pudong Venture Capital, and Xuhui Capital, marking the largest single financing round in China's large model sector.

2. Yin Qi appointed as Chairman to set strategic direction; previously founder of Megvii and Chairman of Qianli Tech.

Strategic Adjustments & Acceleration:

1. Yin Qi optimized organizational structure by merging algorithm and engineering teams to break down silos; integrated data team into algorithms to enhance model performance.

2. Accelerating AI+hardware strategy, focusing on terminal deployment and commercial closed-loop applications like AI+phones, AI+cars, and embodied AI.

Commercial Results & Data:

1. Partnered with OPPO, Honor, ZTE among other phone brands; terminal AI agent API calls grew nearly 170% for three consecutive quarters.

2. Model installations exceeded 42 million units, serving nearly 20 million users daily; AI+car model deployed in Geely Galaxy M9 with nearly 40,000 units sold.

StepFun Celestial's brand collaborations and product R&D reflect consumer trends and user behavior.

Product R&D & Innovation:

1. Multimodal models as core feature, including native reasoning model Step 3 and cloud-edge integrated Step-GUI series, improving decoding efficiency and hardware compatibility.

2. Established "1+2" matrix: language foundation model plus omnimodal and cloud-edge integration, providing technical support for consumer electronics.

Market Collaboration & Consumer Trends:

1. Deep partnerships with leading phone brands like OPPO and Honor covering 60% of domestic market, aligning with AI terminal integration trend.

2. AI+car strategy with Geely launched AgentOS smart cockpit; user data like daily service volumes indicates behavioral shift toward智能化.

Brand Channel Development:

1. Cross-brand synergy: Expanding channels through AI+consumer electronics and automotive collaborations; phone partnerships achieved 42M installations.

2. Consumer trend insights: 170% API call surge signals rising AI application demand, guiding future product development direction.

StepFun Celestial's strategy reveals growth market opportunities and business models, requiring competitive risk management.

Growth Markets & Opportunities:

1. AI terminal market shows massive potential: AI+phone and AI+car collaborations like OPPO and Geely Galaxy M9's 40k sales demonstrate demand shifts.

2. Partnership model: Co-development with brands like Qianli Tech providing system solutions; 170% API call growth indicates service demand surge.

Risk Response & Management:

1. Intensifying competition: "Six Tigers" like Zhipu (ToB-focused) and MiniMax (71% overseas C-end) pose challenges; StepFun must accelerate despite small revenue scale (Yin Qi: "not worth mentioning").

2. Countermeasures: Strategic focus on commercial closed-loop through organizational optimization; multimodal model adaptation reduces hardware risks.

Latest Business Models & Takeaways:

1. AI+hardware closed-loop: StepFun as "brain" synergizing with Qianli's "body" for terminal deployment; targeting ¥1B revenue by 2025.

2. Policy insights: Shanghai state investment implies local support; sellers can learn from resource integration strategies like "Chip-Model Alliance."

StepFun Celestial's AI+hardware strategy presents production demands and commercial opportunities.

Production & Design Requirements:

1. Hardware adaptation needs: Zhu Yibo leads hardware-software co-design for multimodal model-chip compatibility; establishing "Chip-Model Alliance" with GPU manufacturers.

2. Production implications: Cloud-edge solutions like Step-GUI enable phone/car deployment, requiring factories to advance digital capabilities for efficient integration.

Commercial Opportunities & Innovation:

1. AI+terminal collaborations: Partnerships with consumer electronics brands like OPPO/Honor create production orders; Geely Galaxy M9's 40k sales signal automotive market growth.

2. Future layout: Embodied AI requiring 5-7 year development suggests factories pre-position technical reserves; 170% API call growth indicates demand upgrade opportunities.

Digital Transformation Insights:

1. Organizational optimization: Algorithm-engineering integration and data team merger improve efficiency, applicable to factory digital流程 optimization.

2. Case reference: 42M+ installations demonstrate mass production potential; hardware-software synergy drives commercial success.

StepFun Celestial's industry trends and technical solutions reveal customer pain point resolutions.

Industry Trends & New Technologies:

1. Intensifying large model competition: "Six Tigers" divergence (Zhipu-ToB, MiniMax-overseas C-end, StepFun-AI+hardware); multimodal models emerge as cutting-edge technology.

2. Technical innovations: Step3oVision multimodal model, Step-Audio2 voice model, and cloud-edge Step-GUI series enhancing efficiency.

Customer Pain Points & Solutions:

1. Hardware adaptation challenges: Model compatibility with diverse chips addressed via "Chip-Model Alliance"; Zhu Yibo's expertise optimizes hardware-software design.

2. Commercialization hurdles: Yin Qi emphasizes closed-loop solutions; service providers can offer AI+terminal deployment like AgentOS smart cockpit for automotive systems.

Data-Driven Insights:

1. Case references: 170% consecutive API call growth indicates service demand; 42M+ installations demonstrate scalable application potential.

2. Future direction: Embodied AI布局 informs long-term solution development; cloud-edge protocols like MCP support multi-terminal deployment.

StepFun Celestial's model deployment collaborations reveal platform requirements and operational management trends.

Platform Needs & Challenges:

1. Model deployment demands: AI terminals (phones/cars) require platform integration, e.g., StepFun's target of 1M+ vehicle deployments; challenges include hardware adaptation.

2. Partnership opportunities: Collaboration models with OPPO/Honor; platforms can learn from resource integration like "Chip-Model Alliance" to attract manufacturers.

Platform Operations & Management:

1. Operational insights: Yin Qi's organizational merger of engineering/algorithms improves efficiency; platforms need optimized processes for rapid deployment.

2. Risk control: Commercial closed-loop models (e.g., AI+hardware) mitigate risks amid competition; daily 20M user services highlight scale management priorities.

Market Trend Navigation:

1. Risk alerts: StepFun's small revenue faces competitive pressure; platforms should monitor market divergence among "Six Tigers."

2. Opportunity leverage: 170% API call growth signals service demand; platforms can promote cloud-edge solutions like open-source Step-GUIEdge models.

StepFun Celestial case study reveals industry dynamics and new challenges, offering business model insights.

Industry Dynamics & New Issues:

1. Large model competitive landscape: "Six Tigers" divergence (Zhipu-ToB, MiniMax-71% overseas C-end, StepFun-AI+hardware) reflects industry segmentation and commercialization challenges.

2. Emerging issues: Commercial closed-loop criticality (Yin Qi: "glory without closure is temporary"); policy implications like Shanghai state investment supporting innovation.

Business Models & Regulatory Insights:

1. AI+terminal closed-loop: StepFun-Qianli "brain-body" synergy enabling automotive/phone deployments; case data includes 42M+ installations and 40k vehicle sales.

2. Technology drivers: Multimodal models like Step 3 as core; R&D "1+2" matrix (language, omnimodal, cloud-edge) indicates future directions.

Research Reference Points:

1. Data value: 170% consecutive API call growth and 20M daily users reveal user behavior trends.

2. Policy recommendations: Local support like WAIC conference announcements suggest regulatory need for innovation backing; organizational restructuring provides management practice cases.