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- StepStar
StepStar Valuation, Funding & Investors
StepStar is valued at $1B as of December 2024.
Last StepStar valuation
$1B
Series B · Dec 2024
Last StepStar funding round
$719M
Series B · Jan 2026
Cumulative funding StepStar raised
$722M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in StepStar
Qiming Venture Partners
Tencent
5Y Capital
Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment
SDIC Fund Management
Pudong Chuangtou
StepStar Overview
About StepStar
StepStar is a Beijing-headquartered AI company developing large language models and foundational AI technologies under the StepFun brand. Launched in 2023 by former Baidu executives, it released the Step-1 series of models in late 2024, rivaling capabilities of GPT-4 in Chinese language processing and multimodal tasks. The firm focuses on efficient training infrastructure using clusters of thousands of H100 GPUs and partners with domestic chipmakers for hardware optimization. StepStar targets enterprise applications in e-commerce, healthcare, and content generation across China.
Founded
2023
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Licensing, Subscription
Valuation
$1B (Dec 2024)
StepStar Valuation
StepStar is currently valued at $1B, based on its Series B in December 2024.
The $3M round was led by Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment, with participation from Tencent, Qiming Venture Partners, 5Y Capital and Wuyuan Capital.
StepStar valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | Series B | $1B |
StepStar Funding History
StepStar has raised a total of $722M across 2 funding rounds.
StepStar's first fundraising round was a $3M Series B in December 2024. The most recent completed round was a $719M Series B in January 2026.
StepStar funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | Series B | SDIC Fund Management; Xuhui Venture Capital; China Life Private Equity Investment; Tencent; Qiming Venture Partners; Wuxi Liangxi Science and Technology Innovation Industry Investment Fund Partnership; Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment; 5Y Capital; Pudong Chuangtou; Xiamen Itg Group; Huaqin Technology | $719M | - | - |
| Dec 2024 | Series B | Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment (lead); Tencent; Qiming Venture Partners; 5Y Capital; Wuyuan Capital | $3M | $1B | StepStar is a Shanghai-based foundation model company established about one year prior to December 2024. It raised a Series B funding round led by Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment, achieving unicorn status at a $1 billion valuation. The company focuses on AI foundation models in the competitive Chinese large model sector. This round positioned StepStar among new unicorns in 2024, amid a year where 109 companies joined the unicorn board, adding significant value and funding to the ecosystem. StepStar's achievement highlights investor interest in AI foundation models despite a cooling in large-scale financings compared to prior years. |
Who has invested in StepStar?
12 investors have backed StepStar across its funding rounds, including Qiming Venture Partners, Tencent, 5Y Capital, Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment, SDIC Fund Management and Pudong Chuangtou.
Lead investors include Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment.
StepStar Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Participant | Dec 2024 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Dec 2024 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Dec 2024 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Dec 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Dec 2024 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 12 StepStar investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialInvestments by StepStar
StepStar has invested in 2 companies to date.
Latest investment by StepStar was on September 9th 2026. StepStar invested in Chipchip Microelectronics in their Angel round.
Latest Investments by StepStar
| Description | Chipchip Microelectronics is a semiconductor company engaged in integrated circuit design, technical services, hardware manufacturing, and supporting software development for computing and circuit applications. | Dexmal is a Chinese startup advancing embodied intelligence technologies for robotics. The company develops artificial intelligence software, intelligent robots, and industrial automation systems including system integration services. Dexmal manufactures collaborative robots for assembly lines and warehouses, alongside technical consulting for AI deployment in manufacturing. Based in Shenzhen, it supplies components to electronics firms in the Greater Bay Area, focusing on real-time motion control and machine vision algorithms. |
| HQ Country | - | |
| HQ City | - | Beijing |
| Deal Date | 9 Sep 2026 | 4 Jun 2026 |
| Round | Angel | Undisclosed stage |
| Raised | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| Investors | - | Hengxu Capital; SenseTime Group; Knowledge Atlas Tech; Huaqin Technology |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | ||
| EV/EBITDA | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all StepStar investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | ||
StepStar Competitors
StepStar competitors include listed companies like Appier Group, Rackspace, Rezolve AI and Beijing CTJ Info Tech, and private ones like Mirendil and AUI (Augmented Intelligence).
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Private | - | - | $1B | - | |
| Publicly listed | $281M | $44M | $1B | 2.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $2.7B | $244M | $997M | 1.6x | ||
| Publicly listed | $47M | ($109M) | $950M | 4.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $123M | $13M | $904M | 4.9x | ||
| Private | - | - | $750M | - |
StepStar Public Comps
StepStar is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Appier Group, Rackspace, Extreme Vision, iFLYHealth, Rezolve AI, Beijing CTJ Info Tech, Optasia, ODDITY Tech, Beijing Haitian Ruisheng and Beijing Deep Glint Tech.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $281M | $44M | 3.4x | 2.9x | 21.6x | 15.7x | |||
| $2.7B | $244M | 1.5x | 1.6x | 17.1x | 15.0x | |||
| $44M | ($6M) | 22.8x | 11.6x | (163.7x) | - | |||
| $136M | ($7M) | 7.7x | 6.2x | (150.8x) | (144172.5x) | |||
| $47M | ($109M) | 23.3x | 4.0x | (10.0x) | (19.3x) | |||
| $123M | $13M | 5.3x | 4.9x | 51.3x | 34.6x | |||
| $265M | $79M | 4.3x | 3.6x | 14.5x | 9.1x | |||
| $810M | $131M | 1.5x | 1.8x | 9.6x | 18.3x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all StepStar competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about StepStar
| When was StepStar founded? | StepStar was founded in 2023. |
| Where is StepStar headquartered? | StepStar is headquartered in Shanghai, China. |
| Is StepStar publicly listed? | No, StepStar is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is StepStar's valuation? | StepStar was last valued at $1B in its Series B in December 2024. |
| How much funding has StepStar raised? | StepStar has raised $722M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was StepStar's last funding round? | StepStar's last funding round was a $719M Series B in January 2026. |
| Who are StepStar's investors? | StepStar's investors include Tencent, Qiming Venture Partners, Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment, 5Y Capital, SDIC Fund Management, Xuhui Venture Capital, China Life Private Equity Investment, Wuxi Liangxi Science and Technology Innovation Industry Investment Fund Partnership, Pudong Chuangtou, Wuyuan Capital and 2 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to StepStar? | Companies comparable to StepStar include Mirendil, Appier Group, Rackspace, Rezolve AI, Beijing CTJ Info Tech and AUI (Augmented Intelligence). |
| How many companies has StepStar invested in? | StepStar has invested in 2 companies, including Chipchip Microelectronics and Dexmal. |
| What was StepStar's last investment? | In September 2026, StepStar invested in Chipchip Microelectronics' angel round. |
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