Shanghai-backed firm helps AI start-up Stepfun raise ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’

Fortera Capital, a private-equity firm under the Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Co (SSCIC), led Stepfun’s recent series B financing, according to Fortera’s WeChat post on Monday.

Shanghai-based Stepfun, which was founded in April last year, will use the new funding to develop foundational AI models – focused on multimodal capabilities and complex reasoning – and strengthen the start-up’s consumer-oriented product portfolio, according to Fortera’s WeChat post.

The latest initiative by Shanghai’s municipal government reflects the city’s growing efforts to bolster technological innovation in strategically important industries.