AI is steadily emerging as a potent instrument for addressing fundamental scientific hurdles. Jia Haojun, the founder of Deep Principle, compares his entrepreneurial endeavor to "Columbus's voyage to the New World." In 2024, Jia Haojun founded Deep Principle, where his team harnessed AI technology for material research and development. They independently crafted six algorithmic modules and integrated them into the 'ReactiveAI' platform, which was subsequently upgraded into an intelligent agent for material discovery. By 2025, AI for Science (AI4S) had reached a pivotal development juncture, with both China and the United States ramping up their investments and domestic tech behemoths joining the race. In November of that year, Deep Principle proudly announced the completion of an A-round financing exceeding 100 million yuan.
However, AI-driven scientific research still grapples with challenges, such as restricted data acquisition and inadequate digitization in chemical material R&D. Jia firmly believes that AI should fuel more exploration in uncharted territories, and his entrepreneurial drive stems from his fervor for science and computer science. In 2018, with the advancement of computing capabilities and the widespread adoption of neural network technologies, Jia recognized AI's vast potential in the realm of chemical materials. By late 2022, the advent of ChatGPT further galvanized him. He and Duan Chenru applied generative AI technology to chemical material R&D, achieving remarkable breakthroughs and devising a 'hierarchical generation' architecture and the 'ECML system.'
On the financing front, Deep Principle encountered hurdles but ultimately secured multiple rounds of funding, amassing hundreds of millions of yuan in total. The AI4S sector has also become a magnet for capital. In terms of commercialization, Deep Principle has clinched multi-million-yuan orders, forged a partnership with a beauty industry titan, clarified its commercialization strategy, and established its own automated laboratory. Investor Liang Ying believes Deep Principle possesses distinct advantages and counsels the company to concentrate on vertical niche markets, while Jia aspires for the company to distinguish itself in the global arena.