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Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer and embodied intelligence developer has secured nearly CNY 1 billion (USD 140.5 million) in its third funding round in just over a year, with the investment led by Geely Capital, the investment branch of the automotive conglomerate Geely Holding Group.
Other backers in this A+ funding round include BAIC Capital, a subsidiary of Beijing-based automaker BAIC Group, along with two state-supported funds: the Beijing Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund and the Beijing Robotics Industry Development Investment Fund, the company announced today.
This funding will help fast-track the advancement and real-world deployment of the company’s comprehensive Vision-Language-Action embodied intelligence platform, ERA-42. The participation of Geely and BAIC is expected to create more opportunities to integrate the technology within their industrial ecosystems, the company noted.
ERA-42 is already being implemented across various sectors such as logistics, manufacturing, and commercial services. In logistics, the robots sort and scan packages. In manufacturing, they perform component picking, assembly, and quality inspections. In commercial settings, they clean stores, deliver goods, and assist visitors, according to the company.
Within just over a year, the company has completed three funding rounds, raising a total of CNY 1.8 billion (USD 253 million). Last October, it closed a pre-Series A round of CNY 300 million (USD 42.2 million), led by Alibaba Group along with venture firms Crystal Stream Capital and Vision Capital.
In July, founded in August 2023 by a team from the renowned Tsinghua University, the company secured another CNY 500 million (USD 70.3 million) in a Series A funding round, led by CDH Venture and Growth Capital, a subsidiary of CDH Investments, and Haier Capital, the investment arm of appliance giant Haier Group.
Since the start of the year, the company has accelerated its commercial expansion, with total orders surpassing CNY 500 million (USD 70.2 million). Half of this revenue comes from international markets, and the company maintains a strong presence in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and South Korea.
In addition to Geely and Haier, its industrial partners include French automaker Renault, Chinese logistics provider SF Holding, appliance manufacturer TCL Group, and IT giant Lenovo, the company revealed.
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