Alibaba leads an investment of $ 100 million in Chinoid Humanoid Robot Startup

Beijing – As the race for domestic robots is heated, the Chinese humanoid startup X Square Robot announced Monday that he had secured around $ 100 million in a round of financing directed by Alibaba Cloud.

It is the eighth round of financing of the startup based in Shenzhen since the company launched less than two years ago in December 2023, according to the director of Operations Yang Qian. She told CNBC that the last agreement has a total investment in X Square Robot to around 2 billion yuan ($ 280 million).

Hongshan, formerly Chinese Capital, also participated in the last financing round, together with MeituanLegend Star, Legend Capital and Ince Capital. The startup declined to comment on its assessment.

Risk capitalists have rushed to pour money into humanoid robots about the expectations that their integration with generative artificial intelligence will transform how machines interact with human beings.

“At this time we need robots to operate and complete complex tasks autonomously,” Yang said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. He pointed out that after decades of trying to develop robots that have been able to perform limited tasks such as grip objects, the industry has realized that AI should allow these machines to expand their abilities.

X Square Robot on Monday also released What calls an “open source base model for the incarnate”, Appointed wall-oross. Open source means that developers and the general public can access the underlying code and use it for free. The incorporated AI refers to the cases of use of integrated technology with hardware, such as robots or autonomous vehicles.

The startup said it was the first in the open source, a model of the type dedicated to robotics, and hopes that the “robotic butlers” become a reality in five years. CNBC could not verify that statement.

Yang acknowledged that AI for robots is still behind the generative advances for chatting or coding generation, and said it hopes that robots technology does not reach Chatgpt 3.5 type capabilities for at least 12 months. Yang also pointed out that “AI incorporated” does not yet have very clear reference points that can define relative progress.

While the start uses Nvidia Computer chips, other functions only require less powerful automotive chips that can be obtained nationwide, Yang said.

Chatgpt 3.5 was the innovative chatbot model based in OpenAi, launched in November 2022, which transformed commercial expectations for the potential of AI. Chinese companies did not create a viable competitor until the launch of the Deepseek open source model earlier this year. Analysts suggest that China is on their way to obtain a global advantage in AI applications, including robots.

In addition to open source software, X Square Robot on Monday also launched its Robot Quanta X2, which according to the startup can connect MOP heads for a 360 degree cleaning, and comes with hands capable of perceiving subtle pressure changes in a step towards a more human functionality.

X Square Robot said that it currently does not have a product for the delivery of the mass market, and that the specific prices are determined by the case of robot use. The price of humanoid robot according to the human research firmid Guide is $ 80,000. Currently rival Unitree sells a humanoid for $ 16,000Although it is not clear how advanced their functions are.

Yang said the robots company plans to start preparing for an initial public offer next year, but said the startup had not yet decided where the list would be. She said that X Square Robot was already generating sales income to schools, hotels and retirement houses, and hopes to grow next year.

He added that the startup was already talking to customers in Japan and Singapore. But for robots to really enter the consumer market, their price must reach around $ 10,000, largely through hardware cost cuts, an achievement that awaits is possible in three to five years.