Zhenye Xincai Secures Tens of Millions of Yuan in A++ Funding from Guoyuan, Its Third Round in Six Months | 36Kr Exclusive

36Kr has learned that ADI (austempered ductile iron) metal materials company Zhenye Xincai recently completed an A++ funding round of several tens of millions of yuan, exclusively led by Guoyuan Equity Investment. The proceeds will be used mainly to expand ADI material production lines, advance core process R&D, and commercialize applications in downstream sectors such as passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and construction machinery. This is Zhenye Xincai's third funding round in six months. Previously, the company completed an A round of over 100 million yuan and a strategic round of several tens of millions of yuan. ADI is a ductile cast iron material treated with austempering, combining high strength and high toughness. It is widely used in core safety components such as gears, chassis parts, and heavy-duty transmission parts. As the automotive industry accelerates its shift toward lightweighting and lower costs, ADI is considered an important material direction for replacing traditional alloy steel. However, for a long time, the domestic ADI industry has faced a core technical bottleneck: it has been difficult to achieve high strength and high elongation at the same time. In the ADI industry, a tensile strength of 1200 MPa and an elongation of 4% are the common performance benchmarks. An elongation of 5% to 6% or above is considered the true threshold for a high-toughness structural material, a critical technical dividing line widely recognized in the industry. High strength and toughness mean the material can meet the strict requirements of core safety parts for impact resistance, fatigue resistance, and resistance to fracture. However, the technical level of mainstream domestic manufacturers generally remains in the “high strength, low elongation” range: QTD 900-8 (900 MPa tensile strength, 8% elongation), QTD 1200-4 (1200 MPa tensile strength, 4% elongation), and QTD 1400-2 (1400 MPa tensile strength, 2% elongation). The higher the strength, the lower the elongation, making these materials unsuitable for demanding heavy-duty applications and precision gears. Chen Songlin, partner and technical head of Zhenye Xincai, told 36Kr that in 2024 the company achieved a key technological breakthrough, giving it the capability to mass-produce several high-performance ADI materials. These include QTD 1200-10 (1200 MPa tensile strength, 10% elongation) and QTD 1400-7 (1400 MPa tensile strength, 7% elongation). Chen explained to 36Kr: “The ADI austempering process differs significantly from conventional quenching, and production requires coordinated, end-to-end integration of casting and heat treatment. In the past, many engineers were proficient in only one of these stages, casting or heat treatment, and could not achieve precise control from a full-process perspective. The casting composition formula for ADI must match the heat treatment process, and nodularization and inoculation