In early September 2026, a video circulated on the internet showing suppliers of the Chinese tech company, Zhumai Technology, demanding overdue payments at their offices. In the video, a man believed to be a supplier stood on a desk and claimed that payments had been overdue for a year, citing urgent need for money due to family members’ illnesses. Some netizens commented that this tech company, lacking true technological substance and filled with speculation, could collapse overnight.
Zhumai Technology initially focused on producing robotic vacuum cleaners and dust collectors, but in recent years, it expanded into various industries such as new energy vehicles, smartphones, large-scale AI models, self-developed chips, smart rings, and even rumors of venturing into drones, asteroid exploration, and space mining.
According to a report by mainland Chinese media First Financial on August 22, 2026, Zhumai officially announced in August 2025 its ambition to create the world’s fastest car. Founder Yu Hao mentioned in an open letter that building cars is the pinnacle of industry and the ultimate technological battlefield – a perilous expedition. Zhumai even released a luxurious all-electric sports car that aimed to rival Bugatti.
However, this grandiose “car production expedition” took a downward turn in less than a year. First Financial reported that in the past four months, through multiple verifications and corroborations from various sources along with analysis of business data, on-site project visits, office observations, and insights from internal sources, it was revealed that Zhumai’s automotive executives were actively seeking external job opportunities, leading to mass departures and layoffs of project employees, leaving numerous workstations vacant.
The office of the Star Program, located in Building 6 of an industrial park in Wujiang District, Suzhou City, has witnessed ongoing layoffs following the August list provided for such actions. Internal employee Li Da (alias) revealed to mainland media that layoffs had begun over two months prior. Some top management remained due to the company’s outstanding debts to car suppliers.
In January of this year, Zhumai’s founder, Yu Hao, released a video showcasing the unveiling of the Nebula NEXT 01, a supposed new car. Subsequently, the Star Program launched the Nebula NEXT 01 series consisting of three cars. Li Da informed First Financial that these were actually model cars incapable of being driven. The company had custom-made ten different colored model cars, each costing around 3 million Chinese yuan.
Last year, an area in East China was designated for the Star Program project with a total planned area of 414,400 square meters. A field visit in mid to late May revealed that the grass on the land had grown taller than humans. In addition, public information indicated that Zhumai’s overseas factory construction, first-round financing, and OEM cooperation had not materialized as claimed.
Within the Zhumai system, there were three car manufacturing divisions focused on producing sports cars, including the Star Program, Star Future, and Interstellar Cross projects, all of which faced setbacks. While establishing their car manufacturing layout, Zhumai concurrently incubated two battery companies: Lightyear Engine, aimed at consumer and multi-scenario applications, and Crystal Nucleus Energy, focusing on solid-state batteries for automobiles. The Lightyear Engine company also underwent massive layoffs.
According to a report by Daily Economic News in early September, in response to rumors circulating online about the termination of the car manufacturing project, Zhumai Technology representatives stated that the company had abandoned its plans for mass car production, retaining only relevant technological reserves.
Interestingly, on January 12, 2026, Yu Hao, founder and CEO of Zhumai Automotive, a newcomer in the auto industry, made a bold statement on his social media account, claiming that the Zhumai ecosystem would become the first trillion-dollar company ecosystem in human history. This goal far surpassed the current highest market value company, Nvidia (4.5 trillion USD), and even exceeded the total market value of the U.S. stock market (approximately 69.65 trillion USD).
Yu Hao suggested that entrepreneurs like Musk and Hwang Renxun could elevate a single company’s market value to 8 to 10 trillion USD (e.g., Nvidia, SpaceX). He further added, “But they are getting old, I belong to a younger generation,” and as the “younger generation,” his goal was to increase his company’s value by another magnitude to achieve a “trillion-dollar ecosystem.”
At the time, many netizens reacted to Yu Hao’s statement by saying, “He must have had too much to drink.”