VCs, big tech companies, and state-owned capitals are vying to invest in embodied intelligence: Is it a frothy frenzy or the eve of a new era of human-machine coexistence?
In 2025, hot money continued to flow into embodied intelligence.
DeepSeek emerged out of nowhere, and Unitree robots took the stage at the Spring Festival Gala. Embodied intelligence, which combines the brainpower at the software level and manufacturing capabilities at the hardware level, was pushed to a new high of capital and public attention.
Data from IT Juzi shows that from January to July 10, 2025, there were a total of 141 investment and financing events in the domestic embodied intelligence & humanoid robot field. Among them, 121 were from robot whole - machine manufacturers, and 20 were from robot parts enterprises. It should be noted that there were only 77 investment and financing events in the embodied intelligence field throughout 2024, far fewer than in the first half of 2025.
"Physical AI and robots are developing at a rapid pace and may become the largest - scale industry," said Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, at the GTC 2025 Annual Technology Conference.
This year, "embodied intelligence" was written into the government work report for the first time. Many places across the country have begun to layout the development of artificial intelligence technology industries such as embodied intelligence. For example, Beijing will accelerate the in - depth integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation in embodied intelligence. In three years, it aims to break through more than a hundred key technologies, promote the large - scale implementation of ten thousand embodied robots, and cultivate a trillion - level industrial cluster; Suzhou proposes to take embodied intelligence technology as the core, covering 15 vertical fields such as industry, medical care, and logistics, to accelerate technology integration and scenario implementation. By 2027, the scale of Suzhou's artificial - intelligence - related industries is expected to exceed 300 billion yuan, and embodied intelligence is listed as a key development direction; Shenzhen will build an embodied intelligence base and large models for vertical fields.
In the bustling field of embodied intelligence, which enterprises have received financing? Who is investing in embodied intelligence? Behind the boom, the industry is facing the dilemmas of early - stage technology and insufficient product maturity. When will the window period for embodied intelligence enterprises to deliver results arrive?
A large amount of capital influx: 51 financing rounds exceeded 100 million yuan each
As of July 10, there have been a total of 51 financing events with a single - round amount exceeding 100 million yuan in the embodied intelligence field since 2025.
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Among them, Galaxy Universal received 1.1 billion yuan in financing in June 2025, becoming the highest single - round financing amount in the embodied intelligence field. This round of financing was led by CATL and Puquan Capital, followed by institutions such as Guokai Kechuang, Beijing Robot Industry Fund, and GGV Capital. Galaxy Universal announced an angel - round financing of over 700 million yuan and a strategic - round financing of 500 million yuan in June and November 2024 respectively. Currently, the cumulative financing amount has exceeded 2.3 billion yuan.
Galaxy Universal was established in May 2023. Judging from the project valuation, it ranks among the first echelon in the domestic embodied intelligence track together with Unitree Technology and Zhipu Robotics. In June 2024, Galaxy Universal released its first embodied large - model robot, Galbot G1, which adopts a body structure of "double - arms + folding + wheeled chassis" and focuses on upper - limb operation ability.
Galaxy Universal Galbot G1
In March 2025, Galaxy Universal released a smart retail solution for humanoid robots. The wheeled double - arm robot Galbot performs the full - process automation of inventory, replenishment, picking, delivery, and packaging of 5,000 types of goods, 6,000 aisles, and more than 10,000 boxes of goods in a 50 - square - meter unmanned store around the clock. In June, the company announced the establishment of a joint venture with Boyuan Capital under the global industrial giant Bosch Group to jointly explore the application of embodied intelligent robots in industrial manufacturing scenarios.
The financing pace of leading embodied intelligence enterprises is accelerating. Since 2025, 21 embodied intelligence enterprises have completed two rounds of financing, and 6 enterprises have completed three rounds of financing, namely Zibianliang Robotics, Qianjue Technology, Xuanyuan Technology, Lingcifang, Luming Robotics. Kepler Robotics has completed four rounds of financing, and Xinghaitu has completed 5 rounds of financing in just half a year.
Among the disclosed financing amounts, the highest cumulative amount is from Tashizhihang, which completed a $120 million angel - round financing in March 2025 and a $122 million angel + round financing in July, with a cumulative total of approximately 1.573 billion yuan in RMB. The angel - round investors include BlueRun Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners, Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Linear Capital, Hengxu Capital, Hillhouse Capital, etc.; the angel + round was led by Meituan Strategic Investment, followed by Junshan Investment, Bihong Investment, Guoqi Investment, Lingang Science and Technology Innovation Investment, SAIF Partners, and Jianfa Emerging Investment.
Tashizhihang was established in February 2025. Its founder and CEO, Chen Yilun, was formerly the chief scientist in the field of intelligent robots at the Institute for AI Industry Research, Tsinghua University, the CTO of Huawei's autonomous driving, and the chief engineer of DJI's machine vision; the chief scientist, Ding Wenchao, is a young scientist in the field of embodied intelligence and a researcher at the Robotics Research Institute of Fudan University. He once led the end - to - end decision - making network of Huawei's intelligent driving from scratch and created the first humanoid robot at Fudan University; the chairman, Li Zhenyu, was formerly the president of Baidu's Intelligent Driving Business Group.
Following closely is Xinghaitu, which completed a cumulative Series A financing of approximately 1.25 billion yuan in 2025. The investors include Meituan Longzhu, Meituan Strategic Investment, Beijing Robot Fund, Yizhuang Guotou, IDG Capital, BV Baidu Ventures, Cathay Capital, Capital Today, Xianghe Capital, CICC Porsche Fund, Xianghe Capital, Mihoyo, Wuxi Venture Capital Group, etc.
Xinghaitu was established in September 2023. Its products include the general humanoid - like robot R1 Pro and the wheeled double - arm mobile platform R1 lite, and it has built an end - to - end embodied intelligence development platform, EDP. Since the end of 2024, the wheeled double - arm robot bodies of Xinghaitu have been delivered to more than a hundred top developer customers at home and abroad, and the shipment volume of the same - configuration bodies and the number of developers have jumped to the first in the industry.
VCs, state - owned capitals, and big companies are competing to invest. Where does the hot money come from?
Behind the current boom of the embodied intelligence field in the primary market, where does the hot money come from?
Through sorting out, Yibang Power found that the current investors in the embodied intelligence field can be divided into three major camps: The first type is VCs, which focus on the team composition, technological breakthroughs, and commercialization scenarios of embodied intelligence enterprises; the second type is industrial players such as Internet giants, automobile manufacturers, and even battery giants, which can provide application scenarios such as factories and warehouses for robots during the training stage; the third type is the national team and local industrial funds, which provide policy support and industrial chain resources for enterprises and promote the implementation of embodied intelligence in national strategic scenarios such as industrial manufacturing and intelligent logistics.
▶ VCs are frantically vying for positions, but still can't match the real - world attractiveness of industrial capital
Although Zhu Xiaohu, a partner at Jinshajiang Venture Capital, was pessimistic about humanoid robots at the beginning of the year, both mainstream RMB funds and US - dollar funds are reluctant to miss the opportunity to invest in the embodied intelligence field.
Chen Weiguang, managing partner of BlueRun Ventures, believes that the opportunity in embodied intelligence is very large. Rather than distinguishing the technical combinations of different teams one by one, the team's greater judgment is to make heavy investments in the embodied track. The underlying logic behind this is that China has an advantage in the global development of embodied intelligence, especially in the supply chain and engineering efficiency, far superior to the United States and Europe. Just like betting on intelligent driving back then, BlueRun Ventures believes that a next - generation global company can emerge here.
"Currently, it has become an industry consensus for VCs to invest in technology," said Ji Wei, founding managing partner of Huaying Capital. Huaying Capital has invested in several embodied intelligence enterprises at different development stages, such as Zibianliang Robotics, Magic Atom, Xingdong Jiyuan, and Yun Shenchu Technology.
However, currently, VCs are not the most favored investors for leading robot enterprises. Ji Wei believes that enterprises prefer industrial investment or large - scale state - owned capital. The former can help robot enterprises secure orders, and the latter can help enterprises with capitalization and obtain government resources and industry resources. Chen Weiguang also said: "If you enter the game late, you can only compete with big companies for resources."
▶ Meituan has made 4 investments in half a year, and big companies are intensively participating in investing in unicorns
Whether it is Internet giants such as Meituan, Alibaba, and Tencent, or new - energy vehicle manufacturers and battery manufacturers such as Geely, CATL, and Sunwoda, they have frequently appeared in the list of investors in embodied intelligence. The investments of big companies include both financial investments and strategic investments.
Among them, Meituan has been the most aggressive in investing in embodied intelligence, investing in 4 enterprises in just half a year. In June 2025, Meituan was the sole investor in the Series A financing of Zibianliang Robotics, injecting hundreds of millions of yuan; since 2025, Meituan has also participated in the angel + round financing of Tashizhihang, Meituan Longzhu participated in the Series A+ financing of Xinghaitu, and the angel - round financing of Miaodong Technology.
Tencent invested in Zhipu Robotics and Unitree Technology, two unicorn enterprises, in March and June 2025 respectively; Alibaba and Ant Group also increased their investment in Unitree Technology. In addition to Unitree Technology, Alibaba also invested in the robot enterprise Yuanluo Technology, and Ant Group invested in the dexterous - hand enterprises Lingxin Qiaoshou, Taihu Robotics, Xingchen Intelligence, and Xinghaitu. BV Baidu Ventures continued to participate in Xinghaitu's 5 rounds of financing in 2025.
In terms of new - energy big companies, CATL invested in Galaxy Universal, Sunwoda became the sole investor in the angel - round financing of Amiao Robotics, and Geely Holding became the investor in the Series C+ financing of Unitree Technology.
▶ State - owned capitals are making frequent investments, betting on the position of the embodied intelligence industry
State - owned capitals and local funds have been more active: Since 2025, Guotou Chuanghe has invested in enterprises such as Lingbao, Xinghaitu, Zhipingfang, and Zhipu Robotics; Beijing Guoguan participated in the financing of enterprises such as Galaxy Universal, Xiaoyu Zhizao, Xinghaitu, Unitree Technology, Yun Shenchu Technology, and Zibianliang Robotics; Shanghai state - owned capital has repeatedly increased its investment in robot enterprises such as Zhipu Robotics, Fourier Intelligence, and Kepler. Lingbao CASBOT received investment from Henan Asset Fund; Kuawei Intelligence received investment from Sichuan Development Industrial Guidance Fund and Chengdu Science and Technology Innovation Investment. According to incomplete statistics, more than 30 out of the 141 financing events that have occurred in 2025 involved state - owned capitals and local funds.
Behind the investment boom: When will the next critical point for embodied intelligence arrive?
From the beginning of 2025 to now, there have been 55 angel - round and seed - round financing events and 61 Series A financing events in the embodied intelligence field, accounting for 76% of the total number of financing events. After the Series B, there are less than 10%. It can be seen that the entire embodied intelligence market is still in a typical early - stage gold - rush stage. Investors are making crazy bets by spreading their investments widely. The track is in a period of technological explosion and ecological construction, and the market activity is extremely high.
Most enterprises have not reached the Series B or Series C stage where they need to verify their business models and revenue - generating capabilities. There are very few companies that can truly achieve large - scale shipments and run through the business closed - loop. However, some leading enterprises have taken the lead in making commercialization attempts in areas such as industrial manufacturing, commercial services, and cultural and tourism exhibitions. (Click
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In addition, the trading activity in the embodied intelligence track ranked first in the first half of the year, but the investment enthusiasm has begun to slow down. The various technological routes in the track are still in a state of high non - consensus, and the trend of differentiation and opposition is becoming more and more obvious. Whether an embodied company has obtained relatively sufficient capital reserves will be an important threshold in the next stage. That is to say, a number of projects need to raise more funds to survive the potentially cold industry cycle ahead.
Embodied intelligence involves hard - core technological breakthroughs such as robot motion control and environmental perception. Most enterprises are still at the stage of debugging the sensitivity of robotic arms in the laboratory or running demos in small - scale scenarios. Therefore, Zhu Xiaohu's words resonated with many people: "The customers they talk about are all imagined. Who would spend hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a robot to do these jobs?"
Zhu Tianyu, a managing partner of BlueRun Ventures, said that the next critical point for embodied intelligence is to find scenarios where customers are willing to pay and continue to pay.
The first major order in the humanoid robot field was generated on July 11. The procurement and bidding website of China Mobile shows that Zhipu Robotics and Unitree Technology respectively won the procurement project of humanoid biped robot OEM services from China Mobile (Hangzhou) Information Technology Co., Ltd. The total budget for this procurement project is 124.05 million yuan (including tax). Zhipu Robotics won the bid for full - size humanoid biped robots, with a budget of 78 million yuan (including tax); Unitree Technology won the