CAS Star
About CAS Star
CAS Star was founded in 2013 by Mi Lei, Cao Huitao and Li Hao. Mi and Cao were researchers at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Li was an experienced investor. The firm is headquartered in Xi'an with an additional office in Beijing. Mi Lei and Li Hao are listed as founding partners, and Crunchbase lists Li as co-CEO. Mi is the public voice on AI strategy and has said AI will reshape information, energy, materials, life sciences and space. The firm does not publish a named partner for AI alone, so founders should expect to approach the team through the founding partners or its incubator network.
CAS Star calls its focus "hard tech": long-cycle science and engineering projects, often spun out of research institutes and universities. Its AI work covers both models and the hardware under them, including optoelectronic chips and photonics. In 2025 it launched the CAS Star Pioneer Venture Capital Fund (先导创业投资基金), registered in Shanghai Pudong. It is aimed at hard tech built around AI across materials, energy, information, life and space. Mi Lei has said the firm backed Zhipu AI at angel stage after judging that knowledge graphs and natural language processing were the next direction after deep learning. On the Lounge deals desk, recent AI-related rounds include DiffuSpace (two venture rounds, $70M, 2026-10), Yuanli Semiconductor (seed, $73.1M), Lead Health (seed, $14.8M) and Deep Cell (seed, $14.8M, CAS Star led).
The Pioneer fund had a first close of CNY 2.617B on 16 July 2025 with 19 limited partners, including the National SME Development Fund and the Shanghai Guotou Pioneer AI Fund. It has an 8-year term. Its final close reached CNY 4.08B (about $573M), with Ant Group among the new investors. The stated allocation is 70% to early-stage projects and 30% to growth-stage projects. Third-party sources give differing figures for total assets under management (Wikipedia: US$1.4B in 2023), so none is shown as firm-confirmed.
CAS Star describes itself as investing early and in small projects, from lab stage onward. Its new fund puts 70% into early-stage work. The AI rounds on the Lounge desk are mostly seed. CAS Star does not publish a check size. One third-party database lists a range of $300K to $20M across pre-seed to Series A, but this is an estimate, not a firm statement. Round sizes above are total round sizes, not CAS Star's own checks.
- Zhipu AI: Chinese large model developer; CAS Star was an early backer, investing at angel stage according to Mi Lei.
- Lightelligence: optical computing company; listed by Crunchbase as a CAS Star exit.
- Beijing Zhongke WengeAI: AI company; PitchBook lists an IPO exit dated 2026-06.
- UISEE Technologies: autonomous driving company; PitchBook lists an exit dated 2026-05.
- DiffuSpace: two venture rounds totalling $70M (2026-10).
- Yuanli Semiconductor: seed round, $73.1M (CNY 500M) (2026-04).
- Deep Cell: seed round, $14.8M (CNY 100M), CAS Star led (2026-08).
- Lead Health: seed round, $14.8M (CNY 100M) (2026-07).
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_Star
- asianfin.com/articles/231046
- news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2025/7/547856.shtm
- news.qq.com/rain/a/20250718A0B0VT00
- jrj.sh.gov.cn/ZQ181/20250717/b98233f81669444d867c4db808f2e867.html
- m.21jingji.com/article/20230816/herald/7cc0808ed613656f62f80ae6e699bf6
- crunchbase.com/organization/cas-star
- crunchbase.com/organization/cas-star/recent_investments
Investing activity
CAS Star appears in 4 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $173M, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed and Growth, with a median round size of $70M and the largest at $73M. The most recent are DiffuSpace (Two venture rounds, $70M, Oct 2026), Deep Cell (Seed, $14.8M (CNY 100.0M), Aug 2026) and Lead Health (Seed, $14.8M (CNY 100.0M), Jul 2026).
CAS Star most often invests alongside Matrix Partners China, Shunwei Capital, Legend Capital and Huawei Hubble, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI and Foundation models (diffusion LLMs).
Deals
Frequently asked questions about CAS Star
Who founded CAS Star and when?
CAS Star was founded in 2013 by Mi Lei, Cao Huitao and Li Hao. It is backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and based in Xi'an.
Does CAS Star invest in AI startups?
Yes. Its 2025 Pioneer fund targets hard tech built around AI, and it has backed Zhipu AI, DiffuSpace, Yuanli Semiconductor and others.
What stage does CAS Star invest in?
Mainly early stage. The Pioneer fund puts 70% in early-stage projects and 30% in growth stage. Recent AI deals on Lounge are mostly seed.
How large is CAS Star's AI fund?
The Pioneer fund closed at about CNY 4.08B ($573M), after a CNY 2.617B first close in July 2025.
What check size does CAS Star write?
CAS Star does not publish check sizes. A third-party database estimates $300K to $20M, but this is not confirmed by the firm.
What AI companies has CAS Star invested in?
CAS Star's AI investments include DiffuSpace, Deep Cell, Lead Health and Yuanli Semiconductor. The 4 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is CAS Star based?
CAS Star is based in Xi'an, China.
What stage does CAS Star invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, CAS Star has invested at Seed and Growth, with a median round of $70M. CAS Star led 1 of those rounds.
Who does CAS Star co-invest with?
CAS Star's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Matrix Partners China (1 deal), Shunwei Capital (1 deal), Legend Capital (1 deal), Huawei Hubble (1 deal) and Horizon Robotics (1 deal).
How can founders reach CAS Star?
Founders on AI Lounge can see CAS Star's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add CAS Star to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.