Nature Select
Category: AI Agents
Chinese AI companionship startup developing EVE, a 3D AI companion app with emotional intelligence, long-term memory, and proactive agents, plus the AI social network Elys. Nature Select was founded in 2024. The company is led by 张筱帆 (Tristan Zhang). Based in Shenzhen, China. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $30.0M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include Alibaba, Ant Group, Qiming Venture Partners, 5Y Capital, China Creation Ventures (CCV), Yunchuang Capital, Kingnet (恺英网络).
- Founded
- 2024
- Headquarters
- Shenzhen, China
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $30.0M
Value proposition
Builds next-generation AI companionship products that blur the line between virtual and real-world interaction, using self-developed emotional dialogue (Vibe) and memory (Echo) models to deliver deeply empathetic, persistent AI companions.
Products and solutions
EVE (3D AI companion app, launched April 10, 2026 on iOS, featuring proactive agents that can order real-world items like milk tea), Elys (AI-native social network app, global beta Feb 2026, ~500K first-day users), Echo-N1 (32B emotional LLM).
Unique value
First 3D AI companion with proactive agents that can take real-world actions (e.g., ordering milk tea), combined with a 32B emotional LLM (Echo-N1) that applies reinforcement learning to subjective emotion and a multi-dimensional graphRAG memory system.
Target customer
Consumers seeking emotional companionship (primarily young users; EVE targets male users with a 3D AI girlfriend, while Elys targets social networking users).
Industries served
AI companionship / emotional AI, AI social networking, consumer mobile apps, gaming
Technology advantage
Self-developed dual-model architecture: Vibe (emotion dialogue LLM trained on 100M+ exclusive corpus) and Echo (memory model with 128 dynamic memory slots, upgraded to multi-dimensional graphRAG). Echo-N1 (32B) is the first emotional LLM applying RL to subjective emotion, achieving 46.7% win rate in multi-turn emotional companionship tasks. Integrates 3D interaction, multimodal, and computer vision.
How they differentiate
Differentiates via 3D AI companion with proactive real-world agents (ordering milk tea), a 32B emotional LLM (Echo-N1) that applies RL to subjective emotion, and a graphRAG-based long-term memory system — positioning as a game-quality emotional companion rather than a pure chatbot.
Main competitors
MiniMax (星野/Xingye), ByteDance (猫箱/Catbox), Tencent/阅文 (筑梦岛/Zhudao), Character.AI, Talkie, Glow
Key partnerships
Strategic investment from Kingnet (恺英网络) via its overseas subsidiary Tyrell AI Limited (>16% stake), Alibaba and Ant Group as A-round investors.
Notable customers
Consumer users of EVE and Elys apps (consumer-facing, no named enterprise customers).
Major milestones
Founded 2024, Angel round Sept 2024, Kingnet strategic investment March 2025, Echo-N1 emotional LLM released 2025, EVE public beta April 10, 2026, Elys global beta Feb 11, 2026, $30M+ Series A Jan 2026 led by Alibaba.
Growth metrics
Elys global beta (Feb 2026) reached ~500K registered users on day one; EVE launched on iOS April 10, 2026.
Market positioning
Emerging leader in China's AI companionship market (2025 market ~¥5B, 150+ apps); backed by Alibaba and Ant Group, positioned against MiniMax's 星野 (4.88M MAU) and ByteDance's 猫箱 (4.72M MAU).
Geographic focus
China (Shenzhen HQ), with global expansion via Elys and English localization of EVE.
Patents and IP
Registered software copyrights including "eve虚拟陪伴软件", "奇点虚拟聊天软件", "defomo资讯软件"; holds 经营性互联网文化 license.
About 张筱帆 (Tristan Zhang)
Ex-Founder & CEO of 幻境游戏/深圳终极幻境 (Ultimate Illusion), maker of male-oriented dating game 《奇点时代》(Singularity Era) which hit first-month revenue over ¥30M RMB. Serial internet entrepreneur.
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Official website: https://www.natureselect.tech/