The sheer scale of annual losses exceeding one billion yuan raises a pressing question: how does this prominent private space venture sustain its operations? While the company's technical achievements are undeniable, the financial engine driving its ambitious rocket development warrants a closer look.
In the domestic private aerospace sector, this enterprise stands second in overall scale, yet it leads the pack in technological capability and secured contracts. Public attention often gravitates toward its flagship Zhuque-3 rocket, but the immense, long-cycle capital requirements behind rocket development—particularly for liquid, reusable launch vehicles—are frequently underestimated. The financial documents reveal a staggering cumulative net loss of over 3.7 billion yuan from 2022 through 2025, with the single year of 2025 accounting for a deficit of 1.711 billion yuan, bringing the accumulated deficit to negative 4.84 billion yuan.
Primary Funding Source: Equity Financing
The company's lifeline comes predominantly from a relentless succession of equity funding rounds. A notable C+ round in 2020 secured 1.2 billion yuan, attracting prominent investors like Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners China. This was followed by another 1.22 billion yuan round at the end of 2023, valuing the firm at 17.7 billion yuan. The investment climate intensified in late 2024 when the National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund injected a record single investment of 900 million yuan. A ninth capital increase added another 150 million yuan in April 2025, raising the valuation to 20.8 billion yuan. According to the latest Hurun Unicorn Index, the company's estimated valuation now approaches 75 billion yuan, a near tripling from its previous figure.
However, it is crucial to distinguish between valuation and accessible capital. This impressive valuation is a market-assigned price tag reflecting the firm's technology, order book, and potential, not cash in the bank. The valuation only becomes tangible through future share transfers, new funding rounds, or an initial public offering. For now, day-to-day operations are fueled by the actual capital received during each fundraising event.
Strategic Backing and Policy Tailwinds
Beyond private capital, the company benefits significantly from state support, which offers more than just financial assistance—it provides critical endorsement. The National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund is not a typical financial investor; its mandate is to spearhead the advancement of high-end equipment and core manufacturing supply chains. The state's willingness to invest heavily in a private liquid-fuel rocket enterprise signals that the liquid oxygen-methane propulsion pathway is now considered strategically important, elevating it to an industrial policy priority.
This national endorsement has been instrumental in the company's selection as a core supplier for the China Satellite Network, a role that transcends mere prestige. This designation provides a crucial entry ticket to the national constellation project, opening the door to potentially massive satellite deployment launch contracts. Additionally, policy adjustments have created a clear pathway to public markets. In June 2025, regulators clarified that the STAR Market's fifth listing standard would remain available for hard-tech companies that are not yet profitable but possess significant technological breakthroughs, thereby clearing the way for this rocket maker's potential IPO.
Supplementing the Coffers: Grants and Early Revenue
Government subsidies provide a stable, though comparatively modest, stream of small-scale cash. The prospectus details these contributions: 19.1 million yuan in 2022, 20.75 million yuan in 2023, 29.85 million yuan in 2024, and 8.78 million yuan in the first half of 2025. These funds typically support research and development subsidies and project-specific support, along with local industrial implementation rewards. While insufficient to cover the enormous expenses of engine testing and rocket body manufacturing, they do help alleviate some R&D pressure and stabilize the workforce.
The company is also beginning to generate its own revenue through launch services. Revenue growth has been dramatic, jumping from a mere 3.95 million yuan in 2023 to 52.09 million yuan in 2025, an eleven-fold increase, with roughly 70% of income stemming from commercial launches of the Zhuque-2 series. However, this nascent revenue stream carries significant customer concentration risk. In the first half of 2025, sales to a single client accounted for a massive 98% of total revenue, leaving the business highly vulnerable to any changes in a client's deployment plans.
The overarching strategy is clear: funnel the cash raised from private equity into the development of engines, rocket bodies, test facilities, and the critical reusable technology for the Zhuque-3. Once the technology matures and the company successfully lists on the STAR Market, a proposed fundraising of 7.5 billion yuan would be used to expand production capacity and continue R&D. The eventual objective is to leverage rocket reusability to win large-scale constellation launch contracts, lower costs per launch, and achieve profitability. This intricate network of funding sources—ranging from venture capital and state-backed funds to subsidies and nascent launch revenue—forms the financial bedrock of this high-stakes venture into the future of Chinese commercial space.