ZhiChao AI Technology has opened a seed financing round as it positions a new AI-powered “pet butler” smart litter box that the company says can operate up to 30 days without manual intervention. The startup is seeking 2 million to 20 million yuan in seed funding and plans to offer 1% to 10% of equity.
The product is presented as a full-scenario smart pet hardware terminal that combines robotics and AI to address feeding, drinking, excreting, movement and human–pet interaction. ZhiChao says the device integrates automated litter cleaning, timed feeding, circulating filtered water, health monitoring and remote interaction via a companion app, and that its top-tier hardware model is priced at 9,999 yuan.
ZhiChao product and technology highlights
ZhiChao departs from the common drum-and-sieve litter-box design and instead uses a mechanical structure based on linear rails and a robotic arm, which the company says improves cleaning effectiveness and eliminates cat-injury risks; the core mechanical structure has obtained invention patents. The device also features an integrated flushing and sewage discharge system designed to send waste directly into urban sewage networks, a fully enclosed bacteriostatic-material body for physical odor isolation, and UV sterilization to maintain the internal environment.
On the AI side, ZhiChao equips the unit with high-precision visual sensors and high-performance computing chips that identify pet entry and exit at millisecond-level latency to control power and safety functions. A health-monitoring system automatically collects multi-dimensional data—such as toilet frequency, toilet duration and weight—and uses AI models to produce health-trend analysis, weekly health reports and real-time early warnings for abnormalities.
The product also includes a high-definition camera, stored voice-call sounds for human–pet interaction, and remote status viewing and control through a supporting app.
Business model, pricing and forecasts
ZhiChao’s revenue strategy is three-tiered: hardware sales, a SaaS subscription and data monetization. Hardware is the primary revenue source with three versions priced at 2,999 yuan (Zhikang), 6,999 yuan (Zhiyou) and 9,999 yuan (Zhizun). The company plans a pet health subscription service at 28 yuan per month, which provides weekly health reports and one-on-one video consultations with veterinarians. ZhiChao also intends to monetize anonymized aggregated pet behavior and health data with the pet insurance and pet medicine industries.
The project forecasts annual revenue of 220 million yuan in 2027, 850 million yuan in 2028, and 1.58 billion yuan in 2029, and says mass production will lower BOM costs and improve gross margins.
Market approach and team
ZhiChao aims at high-net-worth pet-owning households and plans a dual online–offline channel strategy: launching via a Tmall official flagship store, working with vertical pet KOLs on Douyin, and developing private-domain users online; and placing experience equipment in high-end pet life halls in first-tier and new first-tier cities, participating in major pet exhibitions and running branded events offline.
The founding team includes Bi Zhifu (founder), described as a mechanical design engineer with multiple personal invention patents; CEO Chen Liyuan, who holds a Master of Electrical Engineering from Zhejiang University and has AI R&D experience in internet and overseas technology firms; CTO Liu Shi, a computer science PhD who has worked for Motorola and Google in AI algorithm and system architecture R&D; and COO Guo Yonglong, a graduate of Henan University of Technology with prior experience as a Greater China marketing director at a multinational enterprise.
ZhiChao says it holds 4 invention patents and 1 appearance design patent, with several core technology patents pending.
Financing and exit plan
At the current stage the project is in a seed round targeting 2 million to 20 million yuan and offering 1% to 10% equity. The company plans to enable investor exit through strategic mergers and acquisitions or an independent IPO in 2031.
Industry context: ZhiChao cites broad market demand for smarter, lower-maintenance pet hardware amid a growing global pet market. According to PW Consulting figures included in the company materials, the global pet industry reached 320.4 billion US dollars in 2025, of which the smart pet hardware segment accounted for 12.023 billion US dollars, and there were 1.604 billion pet-owning households worldwide.
The company presents its product as addressing several claimed shortcomings of mainstream automatic litter boxes—such as litter breakage from drum-and-sieve designs, incomplete waste removal and odor issues, frequent manual maintenance for waste disposal, isolated single functions, complex internal structures that are hard to clean, and reliance on high-cost consumables—by offering an integrated hardware-plus-AI service model.
