Shenzhen robotics company raises $143M

Shenzhen-based humanoid robotics startup X Square Robot has closed a 1 billion yuan (US$143.4 million) A++ financing round, positioning itself as the only domestic embodied-AI company to be backed simultaneously by internet heavyweights ByteDance, Meituan and Alibaba Group Holding.

The company announced Monday that the round was led by a group of major investors including ByteDance, HongShan Capital Group, the Beijing Information Industry Development Fund and Shenzhen Capital Group, alongside several regional investment platforms. Notably, the deal represents the first investment by a newly established special technology fund supported by Shenzhen Capital Group, underscoring local government and institutional enthusiasm for advanced robotics and AI.

X Square Robot said the funding will accelerate product development, industrial deployment and scaling of its embodied artificial intelligence solutions. Founded in December 2023, the startup focuses on research and development of general-purpose “embodied large models” — AI systems designed to control robots that perceive and act in the physical world using real-world data as their primary training source. The company says its approach aims to produce general-purpose robots with refined operational capabilities that can perform complex tasks across environments.

To date, X Square Robot has completed nine financing rounds, raising a total of 3 billion yuan, according to the company. The latest capital injection follows a path of rapid fundraising and product iteration, reflecting investor confidence in the commercial potential of humanoid and service robots.

X Square Robot has begun deployments in multiple high-value sectors, including industrial manufacturing, logistics and elderly care. The firm says these cross-industry applications demonstrate strong generalization capabilities and low-cost implementation, enabling robots to meet real commercial demand rather than remaining experimental technologies.