Chuangyuezhe closes ¥100M Pre-A for reusable crewed spacecraft
What's the deal? Beijing-based Chuangyuezhe (穿越者), a startup building reusable crewed spacecraft for commercial space tourism, has closed a pre-A round worth over 100 million yuan (roughly $14M). A major unnamed internet company's strategic investment arm led the round, with outdoor gear maker ToreadDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and existing backers Zhongtian Huifu and Binfu CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → following on. The funds will go toward R&D, ground testing, and key technology development for its CYZ1 crewed capsule.
Founded in January 2023, Chuangyuezhe aims to build China's answer to SpaceX's Crew Dragon — a low-cost, reusable spacecraft for both passengers and cargo.
Why now? China's commercial space sector has matured rapidly over the past decade, with nearly 40 rocket companies emerging. The industry is now entering a phase of policy tailwinds, maturing technology, and accelerating capital inflows.
The demand side is equally compelling. According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology research arm, the global space tourism market could reach $300B by 2030, with China accounting for over 30%. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have already proven that commercial spaceflight demand far outstrips supply.
Chuangyuezhe has moved fast. In 2023, it sold China's first commercial space tourism ticket. In January 2026, it unveiled a list of over 20 paying space tourists at a global launch event, generating billions of views online.
What could go wrong? The company is still years from carrying passengers. It has designated 2026 as its "ground test verification year," with plans to validate separation, recovery, escape, life support, and human factors systems. Its technical roadmap follows a cautious path: low altitude before high, uncrewed before crewed, with regulatory approval required at each stage.
Safety is the obvious risk. Chuangyuezhe says it has completed China's first full-scale crewed capsule landing buffer test, with its proprietary system keeping impact loads below 5g. But the gap between ground tests and routine crewed flights remains vast.
The signal: With nearly 40 rocket companies already operating in China, the commercial space sector's centre of gravity is shifting downstream — from launch infrastructure toward consumer-facing services. The involvement of a corporate investor like Toread Holdings GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an outdoor gear maker, alongside an unnamed internet giant's strategic arm underscores a bet that space tourism will eventually sit closer to the consumer and lifestyle economy than to traditional aerospace. For a company founded just two years ago and still in ground-testing phase, the capital signals strong appetite for early positioning in what could become China's first major direct-to-consumer space play.
Read more: 36kr.com
