On 20 September Zhishen Technology closed its Series B. The same day Alibaba took a stake in Moqi Intelligence, Ant invested in Tianji Intelligence, and Qiyuan Robotics connected to Tencent Cloud’s WorkBuddy. Four moves in one day, spanning financing, equity and ecosystem, covering complete machines, embodied brains, core components and consumer products.
Zhishen’s round was led by UAE-based Stone Venture, with industrial investors Neusoft, Hamps Tech and Riying Electronics. By June it had produced over 15,000 units, lifted monthly capacity more than tenfold year on year, entered power, petrochemical, firefighting and security, partnered with over 500 ecosystem players, and pushed CHAMP joint-module annual capacity past 1 million units.
Alibaba took a stake in Moqi Intelligence, founded by a former Huawei intelligent-driving core team and focused on embodied-intelligence robots. Ant invested in Tianji Intelligence, whose MEMS joint-torque sensor is its core, with over 10,000 units in hand orders in the first quarter and customers spanning 45 humanoid complete-machine makers. Qiyuan Robotics connected to Tencent Cloud, with its Q1 and T1 models the first to access the platform.
One detail is easy to miss. Zhishen’s investor list includes A-share listed firms Neusoft, Hamps and Riying, and Tianji’s shareholder list shows both Ant and Tencent. That combination says one thing: industrial capital, not pure financial money, is becoming the main buyer in the embodied-AI primary market.
In the first half of 2026 China’s embodied-AI financing hit 93.5 billion yuan, five times the year before, but the money is splitting. A BOC Securities note says 2026 capital is concentrating on later-stage projects with real production and clear commercial paths, and IT Juzi data shows 19 new 10-billion-yuan unicorns in the half while the 80-20 effect tightens.
Zhishen fits that filter precisely. Fifteen thousand units produced, tenfold capacity, a million joint modules a year, those are the hard currency that won its B round. The appearance of Middle East capital is another signal worth watching.
Alibaba and Ant moved the same day but not the same link. Alibaba bet on Moqi’s brain, built from a Huawei self-driving team; Ant bet on Tianji’s sense of touch, the MEMS torque sensor that is the robot’s force nerve ending. Two companies in one group, one day, two different links, is itself a risk-spreading strategy.
On 17 September the humanoid-robot sector moved on the news that Tesla’s Optimus team was auditing Chinese factories. But the pricing anchors differ across markets: primary markets watch production ability and technical moats, secondary markets watch orders and supply-chain position. Zhishen’s 15,000 units feed the component suppliers most directly, and Tianji’s 10,000-plus sensor orders across 45 makers show tactile sensing moving from optional to standard.
Seen together, the four 20 September moves sketch a clearer picture. The capital logic in embodied AI is shifting from betting the track to picking the link. Alibaba bets the brain, Ant bets the touch, Middle East capital bets production scale, Tencent bets ecosystem access. Each player is planting a flag on the link it judges most critical.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original OFweek report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-09/ART-898890-12005-30704090.html.