Magic Atom and Galaxy Universal Robot officially announced their appearance on the Spring Festival Gala. What's the background of these two companies?
Image source: Galaxy Universal Robotics
Following Magic Atom, another robotics company will take the stage at this year's Spring Festival Gala.
On January 25th, China Media Group officially announced that Galaxy Universal Robotics has become the designated embodied large - model robot for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. On January 23rd, Magic Atom became the strategic partner for intelligent robots at the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Horse.
Public information shows that Beijing Galaxy Universal Robotics Co., Ltd. (GALBOT) was established in May 2023 and is registered in Haidian District, Beijing. It is a technology company focusing on the research and development of general - purpose robots with embodied multi - modal large models. Its legal representative is Yao Tengzhou. The company mainly provides intelligent robot products in commercial, industrial, medical and other scenarios. Within two years of its establishment, it has built a R & D system covering Beijing, Shenzhen and Suzhou.
In terms of technical routes, Galaxy Universal emphasizes "pragmatism" and has launched the "wheel - leg composite" solution - integrating wheeled mechanisms into the robot's legs to achieve dual - mode switching between legged movement on complex terrains and high - speed wheeled movement on flat roads, aiming to solve the problems of high energy consumption and short endurance of pure bipedal robots. It has independently developed several end - to - end embodied large models such as GraspVLA, GroceryVLA, and NavFoM, covering fields such as operation, navigation, and application, enabling robots to "work autonomously".
Wang He, the founder and CTO of Galaxy Universal, graduated from Tsinghua University with a bachelor's degree in 2014 and obtained a doctorate from Stanford University in 2021. He studied under Professor Leonidas J. Guibas, a member of three US academies. He is a leading figure in embodied intelligence in China and a top international scholar in embodied intelligence.
Co - founder Yao Tengzhou graduated with a master's degree from the Robotics Research Institute of Beihang University. He studied under Professor Wang Tianmiao, a veteran in the robotics industry and the dean of the Zhongguancun Zhiyou Research Institute. He once worked at the Shanghai Robotics R & D Center of ABB Group, engaging in the R & D of industrial and service robots for many years.
The core members of the company mostly come from enterprises such as Huawei's "Genius Youth" program, Baidu, and Microsoft. This talent combination gives it certain competitive advantages in key aspects such as self - research of core components like motors and reducers, development of end - to - end large models, and implementation of mass - production processes.
Galaxy Universal Robotics Image source: Galaxy Universal
As of 2025, its core product, the Galbot G1 humanoid robot, has achieved the delivery of thousands of industrial orders to enterprises such as BAIC and CATL. In the retail scenario, it has completed the implementation of hundreds of units for autonomous on - duty, and in the medical field, it has established cooperation with Beijing Xuanwu Hospital, West China Hospital, etc.
Just last December, Galaxy Universal Robotics completed a new round of financing exceeding $300 million, breaking the record for a single - round financing in embodied intelligence. The company's valuation has reached $3 billion. This round of financing of Galaxy Universal was led by the China Mobile Chain - leader Fund, with investment platforms such as CICC Capital and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Fund, as well as industrial giants jointly injecting capital. It also received additional capital from international investment institutions in Singapore and the Middle East and old shareholders.
Magic Atom, established in January 2024, is a "dark horse" in the embodied intelligence track. It was born relying on the robot ecosystem of Dreame Technology and was founded by the core R & D team of Xiaomi's "Tie Dan" robot dog. The core founder, Wu Changzheng, was also the former head of Xiaomi's robotics department.
The company mainly engages in the R & D, production, and industrial application of embodied intelligence and general - purpose humanoid robots. Its main products include the full - size humanoid robot MagicBot Gen1, the small humanoid robot MagicBot Z1, the quadruped robot dog MagicDog, and dexterous hands.
Magic Atom product matrix Image source: Magic Atom
According to Magic Atom, its MagicBot Z1 (small humanoid robot) can perform complex and large - scale movements such as continuous falls and getting up, jumping, and backbends, and can understand human emotions through voice interaction and waving. The MagicDog (quadruped dog) can operate stably in an environment from - 20°C to 55°C, and its centimeter - level positioning and dynamic obstacle - avoidance capabilities allow it to navigate through complex scenarios.
In terms of the financing process, at the end of 2024, Magic Atom received a 150 - million - yuan angel round from Zhuichuang Venture Capital. In May 2025, it received hundreds of millions of yuan in strategic investment from Hechuang Zhiyuan and others. Recently, Gu Shitao, the co - founder of Magic Atom, publicly stated that Magic Atom may have new news in the secondary market as early as 2026, and the company is arranging the listing schedule at the fastest speed.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Jiemian News", author: Song Jianan, published by 36Kr with authorization.