Under 30 Alum’s 3D Model Startup Hits Unicorn Status Amid AI Frenzy

A Chinese startup that uses artificial intelligence to generate 3D models from text and images has just joined the unicorn club, raising $200 million in a funding round that underscores the global AI frenzy. VAST, founded by Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum Simon Song, has become one of the most valuable young companies in the exploding field of generative 3D content. The deal, announced on June 1, 2026, pushes VAST to a valuation north of $1 billion, placing it among a handful of AI startups to achieve unicorn status in the first half of the year.

Simon Song, who was named to Forbes's 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2026, launched VAST just two years ago. The company's core product is an AI engine that can quickly generate photorealistic 3D objects and environments from simple text prompts or reference images. This addresses a massive bottleneck in industries like gaming, e-commerce, architecture, and the metaverse—where creating high-quality 3D assets manually is slow and expensive. VAST says its platform can produce a detailed 3D model in seconds, up from hours or days using traditional tools.

The timing of the funding round is no coincidence. The AI model frenzy, ignited by the rise of large language models like GPT and image generators like Midjourney, has now expanded into 3D. Major tech firms such as Nvidia, Meta, and Unity have all poured resources into neural rendering and generative 3D, but startups like VAST are racing to claim the developer and enterprise market. With investors desperate for the next frontier in generative AI, 3D modeling has become a hotspot.

VAST raised its $200 million Series C from a consortium of Chinese and international venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital China, Qiming Venture Partners, and a new strategic investment from a leading Asian tech conglomerate (rumored to be Tencent or Alibaba, though not confirmed). The company says it will use the funds to expand its engineering team, accelerate research on higher-resolution outputs, and launch a commercial API for developers. VAST currently has around 150 employees, mostly engineers and AI researchers based in Beijing.

Analysts are bullish but cautious. "Generative 3D is still an early-stage market, but VAST has shown impressive speed and output quality compared to competitors," said Dr. Li Wei, a visiting scholar at Tsinghua University's AI Institute. "The challenge will be moving from demos to production-grade reliability and handling downstream IP issues." The funding also coincides with Beijing's increasing focus on AI as a strategic sector, giving VAST a favorable regulatory environment and access to talent.

Looking ahead, VAST plans to close an additional $50 million in funding from sovereign wealth funds by year-end. The company is also in early talks with major video game studios to embed its AI engine into their production pipelines. If VAST can maintain its growth trajectory, it could become the dominant infrastructure layer for AI-generated 3D content. Investors and industry watchers will be keenly watching its next product release, expected in late 2026, and whether it can fend off rising competition from Silicon Valley and other Chinese rivals.