Whale 帷幄
Category: AI in Marketing
Whale (帷幄) is a global enterprise AI company providing an AI-native omnichannel marketing and retail operations platform powered by its proprietary Business World Model (BWM). Whale 帷幄 was founded in 2017. The company is led by 叶生晅 (Jerry Ye / Shengxuan Ye). Based in Hangzhou, China (Global HQ: Singapore). Team size: 101-500. Total funding raised: $187.0M. Latest round: Series C. Key investors include 淡马锡 (Temasek), 招银国际 (CMB International), 三井住友银行 (SMBC), 现代汽车集团 (Hyundai Motor Group), 博世创投 (Bosch Ventures), Singtel Innov8, MTR Lab, MDI Ventures, Gentree Fund, 弘章投资 (Charisma Partners), 蔚来资本 (NIO Capital), 源码资本 (Source Code Capital).
- Founded
- 2017
- Headquarters
- Hangzhou, China (Global HQ: Singapore)
- Team size
- 101-500
- Total funding
- $187.0M
Value proposition
Whale is a global enterprise AI company that powers operational transformation for consumer businesses by integrating AI, IoT, and data into a unified platform — enabling brands to automate operations, accelerate decision-making, and gain deeper customer insight across both online and offline channels.
Products and solutions
Whale Marketing Cloud (全域营销云): SpaceSight (AI视频分析/空间智能平台), Echo (绘声智能语音平台), Harbor (星集知识库), Alivia (羽墨 Agentic AI平台), Lume (灵耀内容引擎/内容分发平台), Novus (星元云边AI基座), Stardust (星尘IoT基座), AI Cameras, AI Hubs, Echo Pins/Buds (IoT硬件), Whale Business World Model (BWM)
Unique value
Whale's unique value is its end-to-end AI-native platform that bridges online and offline retail — combining proprietary AI models (BWM), IoT hardware, and data infrastructure to give enterprises real-time "perception-cognition-execution" automation across all customer touchpoints, backed by 200+ patents and strategic investors from Temasek to Hyundai.
Target customer
Enterprise consumer brands and retailers with physical store networks, spanning automotive, F&B, fashion, luxury, home furnishings, healthcare, and consumer electronics — both domestic Chinese brands and global enterprises expanding in Asia
Industries served
Automotive, Food & Beverage, Fashion & Luxury Retail, Home Furnishings, Jewelry, Healthcare, Real Estate, Rails & Transit, FBSI (Food, Beverage, Service Industry), Supermarket
Technology advantage
Proprietary Business World Model (BWM) for enterprise operations; Full-stack cloud-edge AI architecture; 200+ patents/patent applications; 56 software copyrights; CMMI 5 certified; ISO 9001/27001 certified; SOC 2 compliant; Self-developed hardware, embedded systems, computer vision, data algorithms; 600K+ edge AI nodes deployed; 70% R&D headcount ratio
How they differentiate
Whale differentiates through its proprietary Business World Model (BWM) — a full-stack AI system that integrates vision (SpaceSight), voice (Echo), content (Lume), and agentic AI (Alivia) into a unified platform. Unlike pure SaaS marketing tools, Whale combines AI, IoT hardware (AI cameras, hubs, sensors), and data infrastructure to deliver end-to-end "perception-cognition-execution" automation for physical retail spaces. Their edge AI nodes (600K+ deployed) and cloud-native architecture provide real-time operational intelligence that competitors focused purely on digital marketing cannot match.
Main competitors
Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Experience Cloud, 友盟+ (Umeng+), 极光 (Jiguang/Aurora Mobile), 个推 (Gexin/Getui)
Key partnerships
Bosch Ventures (strategic), Singtel Innov8 (strategic), MTR Lab (strategic), Hyundai Motor Group (strategic), SMBC (strategic), CMB International (strategic), Krungsri/MUFG (strategic), Temasek (strategic investor), Feishu/Lark (productivity partnership)
Notable customers
联合利华 (Unilever), 阿维塔 (Avatr), 福特 (Ford), 德克士 (Dicos), 西贝莜面村 (Xibei), 良品铺子 (Bestore), 林氏木业 (Linsy), 无印良品 (Muji), OLAY, 屈臣氏 (Watsons), 1,600+ global enterprise brands
Major milestones
2017: Company founded in Hangzhou, 2018: Pre-A round from Linear Capital, 2020: A & A+ rounds (数亿元), 2021: $50M Series B led by Temasek, 2021: Named Hangzhou "准独角兽企业" (Quasi-Unicorn), 2023: Launched Alivia (MarketingGPT), 2025: $60M Series C1+C2 with Bosch, Singtel, MTR Lab, 2026: $40M Series C3 with CMB International, SMBC, Hyundai
Market positioning
Leading global enterprise AI platform for omnichannel marketing and retail operations, positioned as the AI-native alternative to traditional MarTech suites (Salesforce, Adobe). Dominant in China's physical retail AI space with expanding global footprint across Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and Europe.
Geographic focus
Global (HQ Singapore, operations in China, Southeast Asia, US, Europe, Japan, Korea)
Patents and IP
200+ 已申请/授权专利 (patents applied/granted); 56 软著授权证书 (software copyrights); CMMI 5; ISO 9001; ISO 27001; SOC 2 certified; AAA企业信用等级证书
About 叶生晅 (Jerry Ye / Shengxuan Ye)
Ex-Facebook Data Scientist & Engineer; California Institute of Technology (Caltech) — MS in Computation & Neural Systems; University of Virginia — BS in Computer Science, Economics, Biomedical Engineering; PhD candidate in Engineering at Zhejiang University
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Official website: https://www.meetwhale.com