ModelBest Raises Tens of Millions of Dollars to Advance Edge-Optimized Large Models
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Chinese edge-AI company ModelBest has secured fresh funding to accelerate the development and commercialization of efficient large models designed to run directly on devices.
December 23 — ModelBest announced that it has recently closed a financing round totaling tens of millions of US dollars. The round was joined by Jingguorui, Guoke Investment, the CICC Porsche Fund, Miju Capital, and Heji Investment. Proceeds from the round will be primarily used to expand research and development of high-efficiency large models optimized for edge-side deployment.
According to the company, ModelBest is one of the earliest large-model developers in China to focus on edge intelligence. It has built a comprehensive theoretical foundation and a complete portfolio of model products. Its MiniCPM series — also known as the “ModelBest Little Steel Cannon” — has already been deployed at scale across automobiles, smartphones, PCs, and smart home devices. The company has established deep collaborations with major industry players including Geely, Changan, Volkswagen, and Huawei.
Following the April launch of the MAZDA EZ-60, a strategic new-energy vehicle jointly developed with Changan Mazda and Wutong Technology and recognized as the first mass-production model powered by an on-device large model, ModelBest achieved another milestone in September. Geely’s AI-driven flagship six-seat SUV, the Galaxy M9, which was released globally, also adopted the MiniCPM multimodal model. The collaboration delivers a new generation of human–vehicle interaction and represents another landmark case for ModelBest in the intelligent cockpit space.
