Chinese car companies pursue humanoid robots following Tesla's example
Chinese car companies are getting serious about humanoid robots, following in Tesla's footsteps.
Xpeng's robotics unit just made headlines by raising over $900 million this August, the biggest private funding round ever for China's embodied AI sector.
Chery, BYD, and others are also jumping in, hoping to ride the wave of AI-powered robots.
Xpeng leads with iron robot
Xpeng is out front with its new robot, Iron, aiming for real-world use. Founder He Xiaopeng and co-president Brian Gu have already invested about $100 million into the recent fundraising round.
Other automakers like Changan and Li Auto are joining the race too, using their manufacturing know-how to get ahead.
Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights, says Xpeng's innovation is impressive, and he sees "razor-thin profit in cars on the near horizon. Robots look much more promising."
With big names like Boston Dynamics still in the mix globally, it looks like Chinese automakers could help speed up how quickly humanoid robots become part of everyday life.