About Light Years Beyond
Light Years Beyond is a Technology company based in Beijing (China) by Wang Huiwen, and was acquired by Meituan in June 2023. It operates as a provider of AI-based general artificial intelligence solutions. Light Years Beyond has raised $280 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Meituan, Tencent and Source Code Capital. Light Years Beyond was last valued at $200 million in March 2023. Its focus areas include High Tech, AI Infrastructure, Machine Intelligence Systems and Artificial General Intelligence.
Company details
Light Years Beyond is located in Beijing, China, and operates in the artificial intelligence sector. Solutions utilizing machine learning techniques are developed to generate text, videos, photos, and other media automatically. The company was founded by Wang Huiwen. Focus is placed on generative AI applications for content production across various formats, serving needs in automated media generation.
- Headquarters Beijing, China
- Founders Wang Huiwen
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTechnology
- Acquired by Meituan (Jun 2023)
Funding Insights of Light Years Beyond
Light Years Beyond has successfully raised a total of $280M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series D round of $230 million completed in June 2023. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $280M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series D — $230M
- First Round $50M
(Mar 2023)
- Investors Count 5
All 2 funding rounds of Light Years Beyond with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2023 | $230M | Series D | – | Source Code Capital | |
| Mar 2023 | $50M | Series C | $200M | – | – |
| Date | Valuation | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2023 | $200M | •••••••• |
Full valuation and stage history of Light Years Beyond
Every valuation point, the growth-stage changes (minicorn, soonicorn, unicorn) and the dates behind them require an active premium plan.
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Last known valuation $200M (Mar 2023). 5 investors in total: 4 institutional and 1 angel.
Investors in Light Years Beyond
Light Years Beyond has secured backing from 5 investors, including venture fund, institutional, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Meituan, Tencent and Source Code Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tech-driven startups are invested in by Source Code Capital. | – | sourcecodecap.com | Beijing, China | |
- | – | wuyuancapital.tcc.mode | - | |
Value-added internet, mobile, and telecom services are provided in China. | 1998 | tencent.com | Shenzhen, China | |
Online group-buying platform offering coupons for multi-category products and services | 2010 | meituan.com | Beijing, China | |
SH Su Hua | Co-founder of Kuaishou, prominent Chinese tech entrepreneur and angel investor. | – | unknown_6a8da8299b224c6aa | - |
Investor details for Light Years Beyond
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
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- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Light Years Beyond
1 people are tracked at Light Years Beyond (1 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Wang Huiwen | Founder | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Light Years Beyond
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Light Years Beyond
5 dated milestones of Light Years Beyond, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Funding First funding round of $50.0M.
- Milestone Reaches Minicorn status.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series D, of $230.0M.
- Milestone Reaches Unicorn status.
- Exit Acquired by Meituan.
Top companies in Generative & Foundation AI Models
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Light Years Beyond (Generative & Foundation AI Models), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provider of AI and cloud-based writing assistance platform for improving writing and communication | 2009 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 545.37 M | – | 4,208 | |
OpenAI is engaged in developing advanced artificial intelligence technologies. | 2015 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 180.07 B | – | 11,115 | |
AI models and chatbots are offered for industry applications. | 2021 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 132.31 B | – | 6,146 | |
AI-based conversational solutions are provided for user interactions and learning. | 2021 | Menlo Park, California, United States | USD 193 M | – | 325 | |
AI-powered tools for video creation from text prompts are offered. | 2017 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 56.87 M | – | – | |
Citation-based AI answer engine with real-time sourcing is operated. | 2022 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 1.72 B | – | 1,401 | |
Provider of customer communications management platform | 2008 | Stockholm, Sweden | USD 12 M | USD 2.94 B | 4,080 | |
AI-enabled private search engine for keyword-based queries is operated. | 2020 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 199 M | – | 337 | |
AI-based voice transcription for meetings is provided via cloud software. | 2016 | Los Altos, California, United States | USD 390 M | – | – | |
AI-powered software for contract drafting and management is provided. | 2017 | India | USD 112.95 M | USD 2.43 M | 162 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Light Years Beyond
Light Years Beyond is headquartered in Beijing, China. It is registered at Beijing, Beijing, China.
Light Years Beyond is a funded company, having raised a total of $280M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series C of $50M, raised on Mar 2023.
Light Years Beyond is located in Beijing, China, and operates in the artificial intelligence sector. Solutions utilizing machine learning techniques are developed to generate text, videos, photos, and other media automatically. The company was founded by Wang Huiwen. Focus is placed on generative AI applications for content production across various formats, serving needs in automated media generation.
Light Years Beyond has 5 investors. Key investors include Meituan, Tencent, Source Code Capital, Wuyuan Capital, and Su Hua.
The valuation of Light Years Beyond is $200M as of Mar 2023.
Yes. Light Years Beyond was acquired by Meituan in June 2023.