AgiBot Shanghai Headquarters
AsianFin – JD.com has joined Tencent in backing one of China's fastest-rising robotics startups, as it accelerates its foray into the emerging field of embodied intelligence.
AgiBot, founded just last year and now valued at 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), has secured fresh funding in its ongoing Series B round. According to recent business filings, JD Technology Information Technology Co., Ltd.—the tech arm of JD.com—and Shanghai Jushen Zhichuang Venture Capital have taken equity stakes in AgiBot's operating entity, Shanghai AgiBot Xinchuang Technology Co., Ltd., which also saw its registered capital increase to 82.64 million yuan from 80.46 million yuan.
The funding follows Tencent's investment in March, which marked the tech giant's first bet on a humanoid robotics firm. The latest round also includes continued support from prior investors, including SAIC's Shangxin Capital and consumer electronics giant TCL.
JD Technology, chaired by JD.com founder Richard Liu Qiangdong, integrates JD's AI and cloud infrastructure with its former fintech arm, JD Digits. The company provides a full suite of tech services to enterprises, governments, and financial institutions. The move into robotics aligns with JD's broader AGI ambitions, which span large language models, multimodal systems, and increasingly, embodied intelligence—where AI is embedded into physical agents like robots, robotic arms, and autonomous vehicles.
A JD AI executive told AsianFin that the company sees "embodied intelligence" as the third major pillar of AGI development. "As hardware matures, the software—especially intelligent models—will become the key to unlocking differentiation and competitiveness," the executive said. JD is now focusing on integrating robots with large models, world modeling, and deep reasoning capabilities.
Founded in February 2023, AgiBot has become a rising star in China's AI hardware ecosystem. CEO Deng Taihua previously served as Vice President and President of Huawei's computing product line. The company's co-founder, Zhihu influencer and hardware expert Peng Zhihui—better known as "Zhihuijun"—is widely credited for galvanizing grassroots robotics innovation in China.
AgiBot's biggest shareholder is Sangpeng (Shanghai) Technology Partnership, which holds a 28.83% stake. Zhihuijun holds a 13.79% interest through this entity, according to corporate database Tianyancha.
AgiBot has completed six tranches of Series A funding since its inception, and is now raising Series B capital at a 15 billion yuan valuation. In April, the company attracted funding from the Shanghai Embodied Intelligence Fund, a government-backed vehicle established by the Shanghai State Investment Company and Pudong New Area, with cornerstone investors including Zhangjiang Group. The fund is focused on the embodied AI ecosystem, including intelligent components and full-stack robotics solutions, with an initial scale of 560 million yuan.
The Lingxi line, previously under interim leadership by co-founder Zhihuijun, is now led by industry veteran Wei Qiang, who has nearly 20 years of experience in smart hardware.
Wei noted that many entertainment-focused robots suffer from homogeneity, leading to user fatigue. "To stay relevant, humanoid robots must evolve in three areas: interaction, motion control, and task execution," he said.
In May, AgiBot began partner recruitment for its Lingxi X2 robot, a 1.3-meter humanoid priced between 100,000 to 400,000 yuan. Mass production is expected in the second half of 2025, with shipments projected to reach several thousand units by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, the Lingxi D1 robot dog, aimed at education and home use, will launch in Q2.
On May 23, job listings revealed that AgiBot is hiring for a "Securities Affairs Supervisor" to assist with IPO planning. While the company later clarified that the role is a "reserve position," analysts speculate this could signal early-stage preparations for a future public listing. The listing has since been removed.
AgiBot isn't the only robotics company eyeing the capital markets. In April, Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing told Hong Kong media that a future IPO in the city is "possible but not certain." Unitree, known for its quadruped robots, is also expanding globally with a footprint in Hong Kong.
As China's tech giants position themselves in the next frontier of AI, embodied intelligence is becoming a battleground not only for capital but for strategic dominance. JD.com's move into this space signals its intent to shape the intersection of robotics and AGI from both a software and systems integration perspective—one humanoid robot at a time.
(Note: USD 1 equals about 7.25 yuan)
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