China's humanoid robot industry has attracted more than 4 trillion won in investment since the beginning of this year. Investment fervor has intensified since the Lunar New Year, with an unprecedented 800 billion won raised in a single day. Analysts say capital markets are racing to secure stakes in promising companies as Chinese humanoid firms demonstrate strong progress in commercialization.
Galbot (Chinese name: Yinhe Tongrong) announced on March 2 that it raised 2.5 billion yuan (approximately 531.1 billion won) in new funding, according to Securities Times and other major Chinese media outlets on March 3. This comes just three months after the company secured 2.1 billion yuan (approximately 446.7 billion won) in December last year, achieving the highest valuation among Chinese humanoid companies at 20 billion yuan.
Notably, China's National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase III joined the investor roster alongside existing shareholders. The government-backed fund, established in May 2024 with 344 billion yuan (approximately 73 trillion won) to boost the semiconductor industry, made its first investment in the "embodied intelligence" sector—China's term for physical AI.
Other humanoid robot companies announced funding rounds on the same day. Noetix (Songyan Power) and Uniex AI disclosed new investments of 1 billion yuan (approximately 212 billion won) and 300 million yuan (approximately 63.6 billion won), respectively. Chinese financial media outlet Times Finance emphasized that "a total of 3.8 billion yuan (approximately 801.1 billion won) in investment was announced in just one day," calling it "a clear demonstration of the robot industry investment boom sweeping China since the beginning of this year."
Analysts suggest that rapid growth among Chinese humanoid companies since last year has triggered an intense competition among investors to secure early stakes in promising firms. The competition has intensified as major players including Unitree, Leju Robot, and Deep Robotics prepare for IPOs this year, with investors eyeing post-listing gains. According to Chinese startup analysis platform IT Juzi, 88 disclosed investments in the embodied intelligence sector during January and February totaled nearly 20 billion yuan—an average of 1.4 deals per day.
The Lunar New Year gala show (Chunwan) last month, featuring robots performing acrobatics and comedy skits, served as a catalyst for the investment boom. Both Galbot and Noetix appeared as official sponsors. Galbot unveiled a household chore robot, while Noetix presented a "bionic robot" resembling an elderly actress, capturing public attention. Some robots showcased on stage sold out immediately after the broadcast.
With the Two Sessions (Lianghui) opening on March 4, observers expect investment enthusiasm to grow further if more specific industry support measures are announced. Reuters reported that Chinese leadership has designated AI, humanoid robots, and space as key industrial policy areas for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), with a development roadmap to be unveiled at the National People's Congress opening ceremony on March 5.
China is working to establish industry standards to secure leadership in its robot development push. According to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese government established its first national standard system for institutional management of the humanoid robot industry on March 1. The standards focus on computing specifications that define core requirements for embodied intelligence, as well as data lifecycle management and model training and deployment processes.
However, U.S. restrictions pose significant challenges. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. government is considering limiting exports of Nvidia's H200 chips—the "brain" of AI systems including robots—to 75,000 units per Chinese company. This is less than half of major companies' requested orders. Within China, observers also expect a consolidation phase as the market becomes increasingly crowded with robot companies.