In 2025, capital chased complete humanoid robots — a walking, talking demo unit could raise hundreds of millions. In 2026, the money has pivoted to a single component: the dexterous hand, what the industry calls the “last millimetre” of robot-world interaction. The numbers are stark. According to IT Juzi data cited by OFweek, China’s dexterous-hand … Read more
A year ago, the world’s first robot “6S store” opened in Shenzhen’s Longgang district with only a handful of machines on the floor. On July 28, it celebrated its first anniversary by announcing nine commercialised application scenarios, a multi-channel digital sales system — and a national footprint of more than 20 stores. The 6S concept … Read more
BYD Explorer No.1, a dedicated car-carrier vessel BYD uses to ship vehicles to overseas markets. Chinese cars cost far more abroad than at home. Take the Xpeng MONA L03, launched in Munich on July 16. Its pure-electric version starts at 35,600 euros in Germany (about 276,000 yuan); the extended-range version starts at 38,600 euros (about … Read more
Date Round Amount Key Investors Aug 13, 2019 Strategic Tens of millions RMB CAS Star, Tsinghua University Asset Management, Fortune Capital, Huakong Fund, Jiangmen VC, Turing Ventures Sep 14, 2021 Series A Hundreds of millions RMB Luster LightVision, Xinglian Capital (Z Fund), Beijing Dafan, Tongzhi Investment, Xingtang Tongzhi, Rongpin Investment Sep 26, 2022 Series B … Read more
Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin presenting Kimi Chat’s long-context model capabilities. After DeepSeek, another Chinese model has rattled the United States. On July 22, four things happened in a single day. Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, publicly accused Moonshot AI on X of “large-scale distillation” of American … Read more
Figure Robotics’ F02 humanoid robot featuring a high-degree-of-freedom dexterous hand.Illustration: humanoid robot dexterous-hand durability concerns. (Source: Sohu IT) China’s humanoid robots are being tested by reality, and reality is winning. A manager at one robotics firm, whom we will call Wang Hao, told Chinese business outlet Yicai that the dexterous hand his company sources from … Read more
Chinese automakers are selling cars overseas at nearly double the domestic price. This isn’t price gouging — it’s strategy. Take the Xiaopeng MONA L03, launched in Munich on July 16. In Germany, the pure EV version starts at €35,600 ($27.6K USD equivalent). In China, the same car starts at ¥123,800 ($17.2K). The markup is nearly … Read more
NVIDIA’s stock is up just 10% this year. AMD has surged 142%. Micron has gained 213%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is up 71%. And NVIDIA, the company that defined the AI era, is trading at its lowest valuation in nearly five years. At roughly $212 per share, the market is pricing NVIDIA as if it … Read more
Humanoid robots can dance, backflip, and run marathons. What they cannot do, it turns out, is find enough paying customers. A growing number of analysts are asking an uncomfortable question about the humanoid robot boom: who is actually buying these machines? The answer, according to a detailed analysis published on Chinese tech media Sohu IT, … Read more
China is fighting a European war on two fronts. The first front is the product. The second front is the buyer. Marco Girometti has stood on both sides.