An index of frontier and emerging AI labs.
Foundation models & agents
Shanghai-based multimodal model lab behind the Step-1 LLM and Step-Vision system. Raised ~$2.5B at a $10B valuation in May 2026 ahead of a planned Hong Kong IPO, led by Alibaba and Tencent.
| Name | StepFun |
|---|---|
| Aliases | Jieyue Xingchen |
| Space | Foundation models & agents |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Latest valuation | ~$6B |
| Stage | — |
| Status | active |
| HQ | Shanghai |
| Founders | Jiang Daxin |
| Website | https://www.stepfun.com |
| Careers | — |
| — | |
| X / Twitter | — |
| Date | Round | Amount ($M) | Valuation | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | $10B | reported |
No founders recorded yet. Submit info.
| Date | Type | Title | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-03 | added | StepFun added to tracker Latest valuation: $10B. | — |
No sources cited.
| Lab | Valuation | Founded |
|---|---|---|
| Character.AI | — | 2021 |
| MBZUAI / Institute of Foundation Models | — | 2019 |
| Perplexity | $20B | 2022 |
| Sierra | $15B | 2023 |
| MiniMax | ~$11.5B | 2021 |
| Zhipu AI | ~$6.6B (mkt cap) | 2019 |
| Hark | $6B | 2025 |
| Baichuan AI | ~$2.7B | 2023 |