Chinese automakers are following Tesla’s bet that robots are the next big profit machine
By Pradhyuman,
Chinese automakers invest in humanoid robots
The robotics unit of automaker Xpeng raised over $900 million at a valuation of more than $6.3 billion. IDG Capital led the funding round. The Wall Street Journal wrote that Xpeng founder He Xiaopeng and co-president Brian Gu invested $100 million of their own money in this round. Xpeng is building a humanoid robot named Iron. Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights, told TechCrunch that He Xiaopeng sees thin profits in cars and believes robots are more promising.
Other Chinese automakers also develop robots. BYD introduced a humanoid robot named Xiao Di. Chery Automobile affiliate AiMOGA is preparing for an initial public offering. Outside of China, Hyundai plans to deploy the Boston Dynamics Atlas robot in its Georgia factory this year.
Maintained by Pradhyuman.
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