Alibaba Leads $100 Million Investment in X Square Robot, Fueling China's Humanoid AI Revolution

Alibaba leads $100 million investment in Chinese humanoid robot startup

BEIJING -- As the race for household robots heats up, Chinese humanoid startup X Square Robot announced Monday it had secured around $100 million in a funding round led by Alibaba Cloud. It's the Shenzhen-based startup's eighth round of financing since the company launched less than two years ago in December 2023, according to Chief Operating Officer Yang Qian. She told CNBC the latest deal brings total investment in X Square Robot to around 2 billion yuan ($280 million). HongShan, formerly Sequoia Capital China, also participated in the latest funding round, along with Meituan, Legend Star, Legend Capital and INCE Capital. Venture capitalists have rushed to pour money into humanoid robots on expectations that their integration with generative artificial intelligence will transform how machines interact with human beings. "Right now we need robots to operate and complete complex tasks autonomously," Yang said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. She pointed out that after decades of trying to develop robots that have largely been able to perform limited tasks such as grasping objects, the industry has realized that AI is required to enable these machines to expand their capabilities.

Alibaba leads $140 million funding round in X Square Robot - The Economic Times

The Hangzhou-based company has said it plans to spend $53 billion on AI infrastructure over three years in a major pivot. Artificial intelligence advancements promise to usher in a new generation of smarter robotics, and Beijing has made developing that sector a national priority.Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-led the latest funding round in robotics startup X Square Robot, as the Chinese ecommerce company is trying to cement its leadership in emerging technologies. The Hangzhou-based company has said it plans to spend $53 billion on AI infrastructure over three years in a major pivot. Artificial intelligence advancements promise to usher in a new generation of smarter robotics, and Beijing has made developing that sector a national priority. Shenzhen-based X Square Robot, founded in 2023, secured 1 billion yuan ($140 million) in the most recent round co-led by Alibaba's cloud unit and state-backed CAS Investment Management Co. Other investors in the Series A+ round include HSG as well as existing backer Meituan and Legend Star, X Square said in a statement. Unlike some of its larger rivals, such as Hangzhou's Unitree Robotics, X Square has been focusing more on algorithms powering robotics rather than hardware, founder and Chief Executive Officer Wang Qian said in a recent interview with local outlet The Paper. On Monday, the startup unveiled its Wall-OSS open source foundation model. It appears to be a move to compete with Open AI-backed Physical Intelligence, which is trying to build high-level intelligence into a wide variety of robots and machines. X Square's website advertises three physical products - two wheeled robots and a robotic arm, at a time that many local startups are touting two-legged humanoid offerings. Chinese robotics firms, especially those making humanoid products, have been trying to capture wide global attention this year by putting on their creations for marathons and boxing matches. State-backed funds are flocking to a sector that Citigroup expects a size of $7 trillion globally by 2050.

Alibaba's $100M Investment Fuels X Square Robot's Push For Embodied AI, Global Sales, And Next-Gen Humanoids - Alibaba Gr Hldgs (NYSE:BABA), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

X Square Robot, a Shenzhen-based humanoid startup, secured approximately $100 million in funding led by Alibaba Group Holding BABA through Alibaba Cloud in a deal that strengthens the company's expansion in the robotics market. The latest investment brings the startup's total funding to around $280 million across several financing rounds since launching in December 2023, X Square Robot Chief Operating Officer Yang Qian told CNBC earlier this week. HongShan, formerly Sequoia Capital China, joined the funding round alongside Meituan, Legend Star, Legend Capital, and INCE Capital. Qian confirmed the company is already generating revenue from sales to educational institutions, hospitality venues, and senior care facilities. Don't Miss: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market -- and you can too at just $2.90/share. Kevin O'Leary Loves 'Wonderful Recurring Cash Flows' -- These Small Industrial Assets Deliver Just That The Race to Build Tomorrow's Household Robots Venture capitalists are pouring unprecedented amounts into humanoid robotics as the integration of generative artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize human-machine interactions. X Square Robot exemplifies this trend, having completed eight funding rounds in less than two years of operation. "Right now we need robots to operate and complete complex tasks autonomously," Yang told CNBC. She emphasized that after decades of developing robots capable of only limited functions like grasping objects, the industry has recognized that AI is essential for expanding machine capabilities. The company on Monday announced WALL-OSS, an end-to-end embodied foundation model, with code linked via GitHub and Hugging Face. The project focuses on vision-language-action alignment for manipulation tasks in real-world settings. Embodied AI here means models that perceive, reason, and act through physical systems such as robots. Trending: 'Scrolling To UBI' -- Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.30/share. X Square's Path Toward Consumer Robotics X Square Robot also unveiled its Quanta X2 robot, featuring 360-degree cleaning capabilities with attachable mop heads and advanced hands capable of perceiving subtle pressure changes. According to CNBC, this represents a significant step toward more human-like functionality in commercial robotics applications. Currently, the company's humanoid robots carry an $80,000 price tag according to research firm Humanoid Guide. Competitor Unitree offers a humanoid model for $16,000, though the advanced capabilities of that unit remain unclear. X Square Robot acknowledged it does not yet have a product ready for mass market delivery, with specific pricing determined by individual use cases, CNBC reported. Yang expects consumer adoption to accelerate once robot prices drop to approximately $10,000, achieved primarily through hardware cost reductions. She projects this milestone is achievable within three to five years, coinciding with the X Square Robot's prediction that "robotic butlers" will become reality within the same timeframe. See Also: Kevin O'Leary Says Real Estate's Been a Smart Bet for 200 Years -- This Platform Lets Anyone Tap Into It IPO Plans Signal Confidence in Market Trajectory The startup plans to begin preparing for an initial public offering next year, though Yang noted the company has not determined the listing location. X Square Robot is already expanding internationally, with ongoing discussions with potential customers in Japan and Singapore. Yang acknowledged that AI for robotics currently lags behind generative AI advancements in chatting and code generation. She estimates robotic AI technology will require at least 12 months to achieve ChatGPT 3.5-type capabilities, noting that "embodied AI" lacks clear benchmarks for measuring relative progress. While X Square Robot utilizes Nvidia NVDA chips for computing functions, other operations rely on less powerful automotive chips that can be sourced domestically within China, Yang told CNBC. This hybrid approach provides the company with supply chain flexibility as it scales operations to meet growing demand across educational, hospitality, and healthcare sectors. Read Next: The ECG Hasn't Changed in 100 Years -- This AI Upgrade Could Help Detect Heart Disease Years Earlier Image: Shutterstock BABAAlibaba Group Holding Ltd$155.00-0.28%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum85.41Growth91.82Quality37.00Value75.31Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewNVDANVIDIA Corp$177.530.20%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs