Dreame’s dream of a rocket-powered car is dead

Dreame, the Chinese vacuum company that aspires to be a global technology giant, is reportedly shutting down its automotive project after funding from the government dried up. According to CarNewsChina, the company’s automotive division called “Project Starry Sky” once employed over 1,000 people, but now only a handful legal and HR staffers remain, charged with winding down the operation.

In a statement, Dreame said it “recently adjusted certain operations that were in the exploratory phase,” and that going forward, it would focus on four key business areas: “smart home, outdoor/garden, smart mobility, and embodied AI.” (A spokesperson for the company didn’t respond to a request for comment.) The news comes after China’s government issued new rules aimed at tightening oversight of the $3.4 trillion private fund industry, singling out Dreame in the process. After becoming one of the world’s largest manufacturer of vacuums, the company quickly moved into a variety of new businesses, spawning nearly a thousand affiliated ventures related to smartphones, robotics, and cars. But much of that expansion was funded by China’s government — and the government is now starting to take a closer look at how Dreame spends that money, according to CNBC.

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