Vast

Overview

Vast is a Beijing-based 3D-generation startup founded by 29-year-old former gamer Simon Song (previously a MiniMax co-founder). Its product Tripo AI converts text and image prompts into 3D objects, with existing enterprise customers and partners including NetEase, Tencent, ByteDance, Microsoft, Popmart, and Sony.

Timeline

• 2026-06-01-AI-Digest — Vast crossed a $1B valuation after raising ~$200M cumulatively to date in equity venture financing. The most recent round was co-led by Ince Capital and a China Life Insurance-backed fund, with Genesis Capital, Eminence Ventures, and Primavera Venture Partners participating; an Alibaba-led $50M Series A from March 2026 is part of the cumulative total. Bloomberg’s framing reads as a single “$200M round,” but the substance is ~$200M raised to date crossing the unicorn line on this latest round.

Key Developments

1. Cumulative-to-Unicorn on 3D Generation (June 1, 2026): The cleaner read is “established enterprise traction → unicorn round” rather than “emerging startup → mega-round.” Existing Sony and NetEase relationships are in-production customer wires (Sony has a published collaboration), which is the part of the story that makes the valuation defensible. Lands alongside MiniMax‘s A-share IPO filing as evidence the Chinese AI cohort is converging on capital-markets fundraising.

Related

See also: Tripo AI, MiniMax, Alibaba, MOC - Major Companies.