One of the fastest-growing companies in valuation within the realm of humanoid robots.

Despite Zhu Xiaohu's pessimistic stance on humanoid robots and his gradual withdrawal, an influx of investments continues to pour into this sector.

Recently, Shanghai ZhiYuan Robotics Co., Ltd. (ZhiYuan Robotics) secured a new round of funding with a valuation of 15 billion yuan, led by Tencent, followed by Wolong Electric Drive and other investors.

On March 10, ZhiYuan Robotics unveiled its first general-purpose embodied base large model, ZhiYuan Qiyuan Large Model GO-1.

This model boasts exceptional generalization capabilities, capable of swiftly adapting to new scenarios and tasks even with minimal data or no samples, earning it the moniker of "DeepSeek in the field of robots".

In just two years, this startup, helmed by Huawei's "Genius Youngster" Peng Zhihui, has become a focal point in the capital market.

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Peng Zhihui, the founder of ZhiYuan Robotics, was born in Ji'an, Jiangxi in 1993. In 2011, he enrolled at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, where he pursued further studies in the School of Information and Communication Engineering, earning his master's degree in 2018.

During his university years, he crafted homemade hoverboards, robotic arms, and other "hardcore" creations, sharing them online and earning the nickname "Wild Iron Man" from netizens.

Subsequently, Peng Zhihui joined Huawei, where he participated in the research and development of the Ascend AI chip and led the autonomous driving bicycle project, which garnered significant attention on Bilibili.

On December 27, 2022, Peng Zhihui announced his departure from Huawei on social media. During his tenure at Huawei, he enjoyed a high income and was selected for the company's "Genius Youngster" program with the highest salary bracket (ranging from 1.82 million to 2.01 million yuan) in 2020.

In February 2023, Peng Zhihui co-founded ZhiYuan Robotics with Professor Yan Weixin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, focusing on the R&D and application of general-purpose humanoid bipedal robots. One of Professor Yan's research directions involves the design and control method of wheeled dual-arm service robots based on humanoid behavior.

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Since its inception, ZhiYuan Robotics has completed a round of funding every three months on average, solidifying its position as one of the fastest-growing companies in valuation within the humanoid robot sector.

Just one year after its establishment, ZhiYuan Robotics successfully completed six rounds of funding. During the same period last year, the company's pre-investment valuation had already reached 7 billion yuan.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, ZhiYuan Robotics initiated its B round of funding, with notable investors such as Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital increasing their investments, with a single round exceeding 1.5 billion yuan.

In the first quarter of this year, news emerged that the Saudi sovereign fund PIF invested 2 billion yuan in ZhiYuan Robotics. Shortly thereafter, on the 24th of this month, ZhiYuan Robotics announced the completion of another round of funding.

This round was led by Tencent, with participation from Longqi Technology, Wolong Electric, Huafa Group, BlueRun Ventures, and other industry players and existing shareholders.

Rumors suggest that its valuation has soared to 15 billion yuan.

Investment institutions are reportedly scrambling for investment opportunities, with even those with ample funds finding it challenging to participate in follow-on investments.

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While Tesla's Optimus is still refining its walking algorithm, Peng Zhihui has led his team to release the Expedition A1 in August 2023. This 175cm tall bipedal robot, boasting 49 degrees of freedom and using 70% self-developed joint modules, is breaking new ground in industrial scenarios.

At the end of last year, ZhiYuan Robotics announced the official commercial mass production of general-purpose robots and showcased the operations of its mass production plant in Lingang.

This plant has emerged as the world's second "humanoid robot manufacturing plant," with a planned annual production capacity of 6,500 units, surpassing the industry average.

On January 6 of this year, ZhiYuan Robotics reached another significant milestone with the official launch of its 1000th mass-produced general-purpose embodied robot, comprising 731 bipedal humanoid robots and 269 wheeled general-purpose robots, ranking first globally in terms of mass production scale.

It's worth mentioning that ZhiYuan Robotics employs an "asset-light model" for mass production.

The company independently develops core joints, controllers, and other key components, outsources structural parts to Ningbo Shuanglin Co., Ltd. for production, and finalizes assembly at its factory in Lingang Fengxian Park, Shanghai.

This model not only ensures the company's technological control but also reduces fixed asset investment.

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In ZhiYuan Robotics' latest round of strategic investment, Tencent's entry stands out prominently.

As an internet giant making its debut in the embodied intelligence sector, Tencent holds a stake of approximately 2.06% through its subsidiary Guangxi Tencent Venture Capital Co., Ltd.

Tencent's strategic intent is crystal clear. Leveraging its strengths in cloud computing and large AI models, the company provides ZhiYuan Robotics with digital infrastructure support for algorithm optimization and scenario implementation, rather than directly engaging in hardware manufacturing, aligning seamlessly with Pony Ma's vision of "being an ecosystem enabler".

Wolong Electric Drive, a leading player in the motor industry, also participated, emphasizing the logic of industrial chain coordination. Its technical expertise in frameless torque motors, solid joint modules, etc., complements the "motor nerves" of ZhiYuan Robotics' body manufacturing. The two parties have further deepened their ecological ties in flexible manufacturing and industrial automation scenarios through cross-shareholding.

More noteworthy is the addition of Deng Taihua, former vice president of Huawei. With a rich background leading Huawei's computing product line, his involvement is expected to accelerate the hardware integration between Ascend chips and embodied intelligence, fostering a synergistic reaction between Huawei's technological DNA and the agile innovation of startups.

The shareholder base of ZhiYuan Robotics is nothing short of an "all-star lineup".

In terms of industrial capital, BYD holds a 2.5% stake, reflecting the high synergy between humanoid robots and the new energy vehicle supply chain. BYD's annual production demand of one million vehicles aligns well with ZhiYuan industrial robots' scenarios.

As a core service provider in the HarmonyOS ecosystem, iSoftStone promotes the deep integration of embodied intelligent systems and domestic operating systems through a 1.41% stake.

Sanhua Holding, a giant in refrigeration and air-conditioning control components, is also an investor in this round.

Among financial investors, Hillhouse Capital ranks as the second-largest shareholder with a 7.2% stake, consistently increasing its investment since the angel round.

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Examining the investment landscape of technology giants in the robotics field in recent years, Tencent and Alibaba have adopted differentiated strategies.

Apart from investing in ZhiYuan Robotics, Tencent has also backed RobotPal and UBTECH and has deepened its cooperation with CloudMinds Technology, a leading hotel service robot company. Currently, Tencent holds a 9.09% stake in CloudMinds Technology, which is gearing up for an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

On the other hand, Alibaba strengthens its presence in commercial scenarios, building a matrix ranging from service robots to general-purpose robots through investments in CloudMinds Technology (with a 2.94% stake) and Cainiao Ecological Logistics Robots. Its business logic primarily focuses on the unmanned transformation of new retail scenarios and enhancing logistics efficiency.

Notably, CloudMinds Technology has validated the commercialization path of service robots through the deployment of over 30,000 hotel robots. In 2024, CloudMinds Technology's revenue reached 245 million yuan, with its losses continuing to narrow.

It's evident that the investment logic of large companies has evolved, gradually shifting from a simple single-technology focus to a closed-loop construction encompassing "hardware + data + scenarios".

For instance, after Tencent invested in ZhiYuan Robotics, it swiftly facilitated interface testing between the robots and the WeChat ecosystem, actively exploring the C-end commercialization path in home scenarios.

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The humanoid robot market is hurtling towards an explosive growth phase in 2025.

According to authoritative data, in just the first two months of 2025, the humanoid robot sector in China secured nearly 2 billion yuan in funding, involving 20 transactions, far surpassing the 1.2 billion yuan recorded in the same period last year.

Enterprises such as Xinghai Map, Zhongqing Robotics, and Lingbao CASBOT have successively received hundreds of millions of yuan in funding, with the average angel round funding amount surging to 100 million yuan, significantly bolstering startups' appeal to investors.

This surge in popularity is not coincidental. In 2024, global funding for humanoid robots exceeded 15.5 billion yuan, with the Chinese market accounting for nearly half at 7 billion yuan.

Multiple rounds of funding for leading enterprises like Tesla's Optimus and Unitree Robotics have propelled industry valuations to new heights. Unitree Robotics alone raised 1 billion yuan in a single funding round, while ZhiYuan Robotics, with its mass production scale of thousands of units, has fully demonstrated its commercialization potential.

Simultaneously, the direction of capital has undergone a significant shift, gradually moving away from the early blind pursuit of technology concepts towards the layout of the entire industrial chain. Core components such as impact-resistant actuators, dexterous hands, and tactile sensors have become investment focal points. Technological breakthroughs in subdivisions like harmonic reducers and planetary roller screws have also frequently garnered capital interest.

At the technical level, advancements in embodied intelligence have emerged as a key driver of industry development.

Cutting-edge technologies like the Qiyuan Large Model and ViLLA architecture continue to emerge, enabling humanoid robots to acquire skills through autonomous learning by observing videos.

Tesla's Optimus has been trained with tens of thousands of hours of motion data, enabling it to perform complex assembly tasks, with its mass production plan aiming for 10,000 units by 2025.

Chinese teams like ZhiYuan and Zero Cube are not far behind, increasing their mass production figures to the thousand-unit level and accelerating their penetration into scenarios such as supermarkets, factories, and homes.

A Morgan Stanley report highlights that China leads the humanoid robot market with a 52% global corporate participation rate, and it is projected that the market size will exceed 12 billion yuan by 2030.

The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. This article draws inspiration from Coder Derivation, Guiguzi Thinking, and Lidi Technology, and our gratitude extends to them. The images are sourced from WeChat images.