Beijing-based AI startup Apex Intelligence has secured nearly $50 million through a combination of angel and angel-plus funding rounds as it works on foundation models that can improve their capabilities through repeated research and experimentation.
The initial angel financing was jointly led by IDG Capital, LinkX Capital and XtalPi, with Decent Capital, SEE Fund, Monad Ventures and Winsoul Capital also investing. The subsequent angel-plus round was co-led by Zhongguancun Science City Fund, Shenzhen Capital Group and Shanghai Future Industries Fund, the company said.
Founded in June 2026, Apex Intelligence is focused on developing what it calls self-evolving foundation models for scientific research and discovery. The startup is headquartered in Beijing.
Building AI that learns through experimentation
Apex’s technology is built around a recursive self-improvement approach. Its models are designed to formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments, assess the findings and incorporate those results into subsequent rounds of research.
The startup is initially pursuing fields where research processes can be systematically organised and outcomes objectively evaluated. Its target applications include chip design and simulation, molecular research and quantitative strategy development.
Apex was founded by Yongchao Chen, an assistant professor at Tsinghua University’s Institute for AI. His academic background includes the University of Science and Technology of China and a joint doctoral programme between Harvard and MIT, according to the company.
The startup says its team brings together researchers and engineers who have previously worked at Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Kimi, Zhipu AI and Ant Group. The team also includes researchers with academic backgrounds at Tsinghua, Harvard, MIT and the University of Michigan.
The funding comes amid continued investor interest in Chinese AI startups developing specialised foundation models and industry-focused applications. Earlier this week, TNGlobal reported that China-based AlphaPai raised $50 million in a Series B round to develop an AI investment-research assistant for professional financial users.
Apex plans to channel the new capital into expanding its research efforts and hiring additional talent. As part of that expansion, the company is also visiting universities across North America in September to pursue recruitment and research collaborations.
