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The country’s embodied artificial intelligence sector experienced at least 269 funding rounds within the first 100 days of this year, as investors continue to pour resources into the space driven by a mindset of “it’s better to invest and risk being wrong than to miss out,” making it one of the most active investment domains in the nation.
During this period, companies involved in embodied AI secured approximately 34.5 billion yuan (around $5 billion) across 122 publicly disclosed deals, according to data from a venture capital tracking platform. To put this into perspective, the entire sector raised about 58.7 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) last year in the primary market.
The funded startups operate across various segments, including advanced “brain” algorithms, motion control systems, robotic hardware, dexterous manipulators, training datasets, and the development of practical, real-world applications.
Several industry insiders acknowledged that a short-term bubble could form in the embodied AI sector. Currently, many investors operate under the assumption that “it’s better to invest and risk being wrong than to miss out,” and they often consider their investments successful if some of their portfolio companies survive and eventually thrive.
One investor shared that this year has been notably busier than previous years, with fierce competition prompting investment firms to scramble for stakes in the most promising embodied AI projects. The influx of capital into a handful of star companies has become very apparent, according to sources within investment organizations. Multiple funds are often chasing the same hot projects, creating a situation where “the more capital a firm pools, the easier it is to raise even more.”
As a result, at least 15 fundraising rounds exceeding 1 billion yuan ($146.6 million) have taken place so far this year, a significant jump from roughly three deals in the first half of last year.
The largest single deal during this period was led by a startup developing embodied multimodal large-model general robots, which raised 2.5 billion yuan ($366.6 million) in early March, setting a new record for a funding round in the sector.
The most well-funded company to date is Galaxea, which develops embodied AI solutions and has raised a combined total of 3 billion yuan ($440 million) across two funding rounds in February and early April.
A diverse group of investors, including national industrial funds, industrial capital, and leading venture capital firms, have actively participated in this recent investment surge in embodied AI.
Market Outlook
“Fueled by the spillover effects of multimodal large-model technology, embodied AI is now a key target for investment due to its broad range of applications and immense market potential,” said Liu Yinghang, a partner at Scale Partners who has led funding rounds for several leading embodied AI startups.
Liu also noted that support from government policies—such as dedicated fast-track listing channels for advanced technology companies on stock exchanges—has further stimulated the investment climate since the beginning of the year.
While last year’s VC focus was primarily on the technical capabilities and founding teams of startups, this year, investors are increasingly emphasizing commercialization potential, business maturity, and initial public offering prospects.
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