The 10-Billion-Yuan Humanoid Club: How Eight Chinese Startups are Scaling Up

The humanoid robot sector has officially shifted into high gear, and the epicentre of this boom is deeply rooted in China’s “Robot Belt”—the advanced manufacturing and industrial corridor spanning regions like Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

A new tier of industry heavyweights has emerged, forming an exclusive club of eight enterprises, each boasting a valuation exceeding 10 billion RMB. Backed by top-tier venture capital, these companies have successfully bridged the gap between fundamental research and commercialisation throughout 2025 and 2026. Here is a closer look at the key players driving this transformation.

Inside the 10-Billion-Yuan Valuations

1. UBTECH: The Trailblazing Veteran

• The Background: Founded in Shenzhen in March 2012, UBTECH is widely regarded as the “first humanoid robot stock” following its 2023 listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (09880.HK).
• Core Tech: The company is one of the few globally to achieve mass production of high-torque servo drives. Its flagship Walker S2 features an autonomous hot-swappable battery system and is the most widely deployed industrial model for training in car factories.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: With a market capitalisation of approximately 30 billion HKD, UBTECH secured 1.3 to 1.5 billion RMB in orders for its Walker series in 2025. The company produced its 1,000th Walker S2 at its Liuzhou smart factory by late 2025, supported by major partners like BYD and SF Express.

2. AgiBot: The High-Volume Challenger

• The Background: Established in Shanghai in February 2023 by former Huawei “genius” Peng Zhihui and executive Deng Taihua, AgiBot focuses on general-purpose embodied AI.
• Core Tech: Their “Expedition” and “Lingxi” series utilise proprietary PowerFlow joint modules and the GO-1 embodied AI model.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: Valued at 15 billion RMB, AgiBot is backed by heavyweights including Tencent, BYD, and Sequoia China. In 2025, they delivered 5,200 units, claiming the top spot for global humanoid robot shipments and securing over 500 million RMB in orders.

3. Unitree: The Price Disruptor

• The Background: Founded in 2016, this profitable pioneer dominates the quadruped robot market whilst leading domestic humanoid mass production.
• Core Tech: Known for extreme cost control and over 90% domestic supply chain integration, their G1 humanoid model starts at a disruptive price of 99,000 RMB.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: Valued at 12 billion RMB after its 2025 C-round, Unitree shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots that year. They have also launched a dedicated “App Store” to cultivate a developer ecosystem.

4. Galbots: The Heavy-Duty Operator

• The Background: Co-founded in May 2023 by Peking University’s Dr. Wang He, Galbots is a frontrunner in embodied large models and general-purpose robotics.
• Core Tech: Their wheeled-bipedal Galbot series operates fully autonomously in complex environments, powered by the bespoke Tiangong embodied model.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: Following massive funding rounds in 2025—including a $300 million injection in December—Galbots reached a valuation of 21 billion RMB. Their robots currently operate 24/7 on CATL manufacturing lines.

5. Xinghai Tu: The Developer’s Darling

• The Background: Founded in September 2023 by Tsinghua University alumni, this startup focuses on embodied AI foundation models.
• Core Tech: Their R1 Pro/R1 Lite platforms, driven by end-to-end VLA models, are the platform of choice for over 90% of top global developers, including Stanford University.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: A 1 billion RMB Series B in February 2026 pushed their valuation into the 10-billion-RMB tier. Their open-source dataset is the most downloaded globally, surpassing 500,000 downloads.

6. X Square Robot: The Tech Giants’ Pick

• The Background: Founded in Shenzhen in December 2023, X Square is uniquely backed by three rival tech titans: Alibaba, Meituan, and ByteDance.
• Core Tech: They develop end-to-end WALL-A models and produce both wheeled-bipedal and 62-degree-of-freedom humanoid robots.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: After completing nine funding rounds in two years, a 1 billion RMB Series A++ in early 2026 solidified their top-tier valuation. They are testing commercial viability across manufacturing and local services.

7. AI² Robotics: The Production Specialist

• The Background: Launched in April 2023 by AI expert Guo Yandong, this firm designs productivity-focused general smart robots.
• Core Tech: Their AlphaBot series boasts an impressive 50,000-hour fault-free design, powered by their proprietary GOVLA foundation model.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: They achieved a 10 billion RMB valuation after a 1 billion RMB Series B in February 2026. AI² Robotics notably secured a 1,000-unit, three-year contract with panel manufacturer HKC, marking a record-breaking single order.

8. Spirit AI: The Rapid Ascender

• The Background: Established in Hangzhou in January 2024, Spirit AI combines experienced industry veterans with top-tier scientists.
• Core Tech: Their open-source Spirit v1.5 model outperformed physical intelligence benchmarks in 2026.
• Commercialisation & Valuation: The company reached a 10 billion RMB valuation in merely 26 months, securing nearly 2 billion RMB across two rapid-fire rounds in February 2026. Their “Xiaomo” robots currently execute zero-fault mass production tasks at CATL’s Zhongzhou base.