Sectors

ModelBest’s 2B MiniCPM5 tops sub-4B open models, beating Google’s 12B Gemma 4 on intelligence density

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Zhidx reported on 8 September that Beijing edge-LLM unicorn ModelBest, together with the OpenBMB open-source community, has open-sourced MiniCPM5-2B, a next-generation edge language base model. The 2-billion-parameter model supports tool calling, deep search and code generation, and shipped day-zero adaptation to Intel, Rockchip and Arm platforms. MiniCPM5-2B benchmark results versus larger open models. (Source: Zhidx) … Read more

Ant Group co-leads Tianji Intelligence B++ round, betting on force-control humanoid arms

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On 8 September, Guangdong Tianji Intelligence said it had closed a B++ strategic round co-led by Ant Group and Sofina Asia Private, with Gaorong Venture Capital and Tencent following on, and Gaohu Capital as sole adviser. Tianji Intelligence force-control humanoid dual-arm robot. (Source: OFweek Robot) The funds go to technology research, scaled production and global … Read more

WRC 2026 recap: embodied intelligence trades the demo stage for the profit-and-loss sheet

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At the Beijing World Robot Conference in August 2026, the sound in the halls was no longer amazement that a robot could dance like a person. It was founders quietly working out return on investment in their heads, counting the wages a machine could save in a month. Embodied-intelligence exhibits at the World Robot Conference … Read more

China accounts for 97 per cent of the world’s humanoid robot exports and manufacturing, a senior official says

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On 9 September, at the Agglomeration Intelligent Industry Development Conference 2026, Jin Bing, former first-level inspector and deputy director of the policy and law department at the State Post Bureau, said embodied intelligence is entering an accelerated mass-production phase. Citing the latest data, he said China’s share of global humanoid-robot exports and manufacturing has reached … Read more

Laimeng’s palm-sized bibo raises a tens-of-millions-yuan angel round led by a fashion house and an asset manager

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On 9 September, at the Inclusion Bund Summit, Hangzhou Laimeng Technology said it had closed a tens-of-millions-yuan angel round for its AI robot, with Fashion Media Group and Hongyi Asset Management co-leading. Fashion Media Group, founded in 1993 with brands across apparel and jewellery, is making its first bet in AI robotics. On 25 September … Read more

Xiaomi-backed Suzhou maglev firm Zongwei doubles down on robot joints with a RMB 200 million round

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Robot Forward reported on 9 September that Suzhou maglev company Zongwei Technology has closed a RMB 200 million Pre-C-plus-plus round, led by Matrix Partners China, with Shunwei Capital, BlueRun Ventures and Shengbao Capital following as existing shareholders. Zongwei Technology sTrak intelligent maglev transport platform. (Source: Zhidx) Founded in 2020, Zongwei says it has landed more … Read more

Li Auto refreshes the MEGA at 509,800 yuan, adding rear-wheel steering and four lidar while cutting the price

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On 2 September, the new Li Auto MEGA launched with a single MEGA Home version priced at 509,800 yuan, with deliveries starting within the week. The new model keeps a 108 kWh ternary-lithium 5C super-charging battery, front and rear dual-motor all-wheel drive and a CLTC pure-electric range of 710 kilometres. On a 5C charger, ten … Read more

China’s AI startups raised more in six months than in all of 2025, with five names taking four-fifths

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In the first half of 2026, large AI-industry financings landed thick and fast across the globe. By Zhidx’s tally, there were 165 domestic-or-over-100-million-yuan AI financing events worldwide in the half, totalling about 2.7 trillion yuan. China and the United States led: China had 77 such events, the most of any country, at about 126.3 billion … Read more

GM and SAIC renew their joint venture for 20 more years and redefine what China means to General Motors

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On 5 August, SAIC Motor and General Motors signed a renewal in Shanghai that extends SAIC-GM to 2047, another 20 years. It is a symbolic number. Since its 1997 founding, SAIC-GM has run nearly three decades. As China’s industry moves from combustion to electrification and intelligence, the two sides chose to renew now, which raises … Read more

Ex-Baidu autonomous-driving test chief raises a nine-figure Series A for a Physical-AI data base

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Robot Forward reported on 9 September that Beijing Physical-AI data-base company WuWen ZhiKe has closed a Series A of several hundred million yuan. The round was led by Hongtai Fund, with Hongshan Capital, Zhongdian Shurong and Lion City Capital following, and existing shareholders Bridge Capital, Lihe Financial, Lihe Zhongke and Chengkai Lingcheng oversubscribing; Shneng Capital … Read more