Shakespeare Jewelry raises $4.5M angel round from Honor AI ecosystem backers
What's the deal? Shakespeare JewelryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Chinese "emotional intelligent jewelry" hardware startup, has raised US$4.13M in an angel round. The financing was led by jixuan intelligence, an enterprise within the Honor AI Connect ecosystem, and ruiyu holdings, a domestic jewelry service provider.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2025 in Hangzhou, the company aims to merge traditional jewelry craftsmanship with smart wearable technology. It wants to move products from a "phased tool" to a "long-term companion keepsake," offering pieces with emotional companionship features.
The product: Shakespeare's first product, an AI physical and mental health companion ring, launched in China in April 2026. Its Prologue Series took over a year and more than ten iterations to develop, packing a body temperature sensor, acceleration sensor, and PPG optical sensor into a millimeter-scale space.
Where the money goes: The funds will support core algorithm work, development of multi-modal emotional interaction models, jewelry craftsmanship R&D for new categories, and expansion of global distribution channels.
Who's behind it? Founder Yang Xunzhong previously served as chief operating officer of Inman, founder of Inman UnderwearDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and general manager of Kans. He also founded ruiyu holdings, a brand service provider with annual sales exceeding US$275M that has served brands including Chow Tai SengDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Chow Tai FookDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, CHJ, and LaomiaoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? The global jewelry market runs into hundreds of billions of dollars, while smart wearables are growing fast. Yet the intersection remains largely empty: traditional jewelry cannot sense or respond, and smart wearables rarely reach jewelry-level aesthetics.
The signal: Shakespeare is betting on category creation at that gap. As Yang put it, the opportunity lies not in "simply stuffing smart modules into jewelry shells," but in rethinking how jewelry understands the person wearing it.
Read more: eu.36kr.com
Image credit: InterGem Jewelry
