AI² Robotics, a Shenzhen-based humanoid robot developer, has raised more than 1 billion yuan ($144 million) in a Series B funding round that put its value at over 10 billion yuan.
The deal underscores the growing investor interest in China’s embodied artificial intelligence sector, where unicorns are now racing to commercialise products and secure public listings before a predicted market consolidation.
Investors in the round included tech giant Baidu Inc., state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Corp. Ltd., several companies within the Tesla ecosystem and Guotai Haitong Securities Co. Ltd., AI² Robotics announced Monday.
A source familiar with the matter told Caixin that the inclusion of Guotai Haitong as an investor shows AI² Robotics is preparing for an IPO.
Founded in April 2023 by Guo Yandong, a Purdue University Ph.D graduate and former chief scientist at electric vehicle maker XPeng Inc. and smartphone giant Oppo Co. Ltd., AI² Robotics employs veterans from Microsoft, Momenta and top research institutions. The company has focused on combining simulation with real-world data to train its systems and released its open-source visual-language-action (VLA) models in 2024 and 2025.
AI² Robotics’ latest product, the wheeled dual-arm robot AlphaBot 2, is deployed in industries ranging from automotive manufacturing to semiconductor making, performing tasks like sorting and labelling.
The financing follows a wave of large-ticket deals in China’s robotics industry since mid-2025. Competitors, including Galaxea AI, LimX Dynamics, Leju Robotics, Robot Era and Galbot, all closed funding rounds in the second half of 2025 with money raised amounting to around 1 billion yuan each. Galaxea AI is now valued at over 10 billion yuan, while Galbot has reached a valuation of $3 billion.
Many of these firms are pivoting toward the public markets, with Leju Robotics, Unitree Robotics and Deep Robotics filing for listings on China’s A-share market, while Agibot and Galbot are eyeing Hong Kong IPOs.
Xia Zhijin, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures China who has invested in Unitree, said that going public offers a key financial lifeline for robot startups. He cited UBTech Robotics, which was listed in Hong Kong in 2022, as an example, saying that its listing status and extensive market capitalisation have provided it with strategic stability despite reporting losses.
Xia warned that while 2025 saw an investment explosion with over 20 robot companies raising more than 1 billion yuan each, 2026 will likely be a year when investors will be cautious about investing in robot makers.
This article first appeared in Caixin Global.
