As massive funds pour into China's humanoid (human-shaped robot) industry, startups with valuations exceeding 20 billion yuan (about 4.55 trillion won) are emerging one after another. With the Chinese government fostering the artificial intelligence (AI)-based robot industry as a next-generation growth engine, private capital is mounting aggressive investments, rapidly driving up the valuations of promising corporations. However, some caution that soaring valuations do not necessarily mean technological excellence.
On the 30th, according to Chinese financial outlet Caixin and Bloomberg News, the embodied AI robot companies "Zhipingfang (AI² Robotics)" and "X Square Robot" recently surpassed valuations of 20 billion yuan in quick succession.
◇ Zhipingfang doubles valuation in four months
Zhipingfang said the previous day it had raised a new round of about 5 billion yuan (about 1.14 trillion won). Zhipingfang is a Shenzhen-based startup in its third year, founded by CEO Guo Yendong, an AI expert who worked at Microsoft headquarters, Xpeng Motors, and OPPO. The company is drawing attention for technology that enables AI to perceive, judge, and act in the real world.
With this investment, Zhipingfang's valuation, which had been around 10 billion yuan, more than doubled in four months. The round drew participation from state-owned capital in Guangdong province as well as China National Biotec, Kweichow Moutai, and Zhaoshang Capital, among other state-owned and private corporations. Many of Tesla's key supply chain corporations also reportedly took part.
Zhipingfang plans to put the funds into advancing its robot AI model and building mass-production capacity. It will expand current annual capacity of about 2,000–3,000 units to more than 10,000 units in the second half of this year and build a humanoid production plant with annual output in the tens of thousands. CEO Guo told Caixin that the company's humanoids are currently in real-world operation on the production lines of semiconductor panel maker HKC and cosmetics and biotech corporation Huaxi Bio. Zhipingfang is also said to be preparing for a stock market listing.
◇ X Square draws major Chinese big tech investment
On the same day, X Square Robot, which received investment from Alibaba, said it recently completed four follow-on rounds, pushing its valuation above 20 billion yuan. X Square Robot was founded in 2023 in Shenzhen by co-founders Wang Qian and Wang Hao, graduates of Tsinghua University and Peking University. The company is developing an AI system that enables general-purpose robots to see, judge, and move in the real world. In particular, its feature is that AI learns and processes vision, language, and action data simultaneously within a single neural network.
X Square Robot's products are currently being deployed in household service sites for the life-services platform "58 Daojia (58到家)." For now, however, robots autonomously perform part of the tasks, and when work is delayed, operators remotely control them.
Meituan, Alibaba, ByteDance Ltd., Xiaomi, and other leading Chinese big tech (large technology corporations) joined the investment rounds in succession. Large amounts of state and venture funds also flowed in, including IDG Capital, Hongshan Capital (formerly Sequoia China), China Mobile, and the National SME Development Fund.
◇ Bubble concerns amid investment frenzy
This year, investment fever in China's humanoid robot industry has grown even hotter. According to Chinese market research firm IT Juzi, cumulative fundraising by related companies this year has already exceeded 46 billion yuan (about 10.47 trillion won), surpassing last year's annual total. In addition to Zhipingfang and X Square Robot, Yinhe Tongyong and Xinghaitu recorded valuations above 20 billion yuan in the first half.
Investors are particularly focusing on companies developing AI models that serve as the robot's brain. That is because technology that enables humanoids to perceive their surroundings and perform tasks like people is expected to be the key competitive edge determining productivity and economics for humanoids.
However, some say the recent surge in valuations for Chinese robot companies does not immediately prove technological superiority and instead reflects market expectations. Xia Zhijin, a partner at local venture capital firm Shunfeng Investment, told Caixin, "It is difficult to judge the technology gap among corporations based on valuation alone right now," adding, "As the number of investable companies in large language models (LLMs) and AI agents has dwindled, funds are flowing into the robot field, and expectations that robots could grow into an even bigger market than electric vehicles are adding to this, pushing up robot corporations' valuations."