TECH

Chinese Robotics Startup Spirit AI Raises $145 Million

Published: Apr. 8, 2026 6:24 p.m. GMT+8

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Chinese robotics startup Spirit AI raised another 1 billion yuan ($145 million) in fresh funding, just over a month after completing two financing rounds that pushed its valuation to more than 10 billion yuan.

The massive capital injection underscores a surging investment frenzy in China’s humanoid robotics sector, where top-tier firms are rapidly amassing multibillion-dollar valuations and rushing toward initial public offerings despite lingering commercialization challenges.

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Spirit AI raised 1B yuan ($145M) co-led by Shunwei Capital and Yunfeng Capital; valuation exceeds 10B yuan.
Founded Jan 2024; open-sourced Spirit v1.5 (Jan 2026); deployed robots at JD.com (Mar 2026) and CATL (Dec 2025).
Sector trend: X Square, AI² raised ~1B yuan; Unitree listing accepted (Mar 20) at 12.7B yuan valuation.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Spirit AI: Spirit AI (灵动科技), founded in Jan 2024, develops AI "brains" for robots. It raised 1B yuan ($145M) led by Shunwei and Yunfeng Capital, after rounds valuing it >10B yuan. Open-sourced Spirit v1.5 (Jan 2026); wearable device cuts data costs 90%. Deployed Moz robots at JD.com (Mar 2026) and Xiao Mo at CATL (Dec 2025). Data team: 1,000 by Apr 2026. Faces high costs, generalization issues.

Shunwei Capital: Shunwei Capital co-led Spirit AI's latest 1 billion yuan ($145 million) funding round, announced on Tuesday, alongside Yunfeng Capital.

Yunfeng Capital: Yunfeng Capital co-led Spirit AI's latest 1 billion yuan ($145 million) funding round, announced on Tuesday, alongside Shunwei Capital.

Galaxy Yuanhui Investment: Galaxy Yuanhui Investment participated as an investor in Spirit AI's latest 1 billion yuan ($145 million) funding round, co-led by Shunwei Capital and Yunfeng Capital.

Turing Ventures: **Turing Ventures** participated as an investor in Spirit AI's latest 1 billion yuan ($145 million) funding round, co-led by Shunwei Capital and Yunfeng Capital. (24 words)

Xinding Capital: Xinding Capital participated as an investor in Spirit AI's latest 1 billion yuan ($145 million) funding round, co-led by Shunwei Capital and Yunfeng Capital.

JD.com Inc.: In March 2026, Spirit AI signed an agreement with JD.com Inc. to deploy its Moz robots as coffee makers at JD MALL retail stores.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.: In December 2025, Spirit AI deployed its humanoid robot Xiao Mo at a Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) facility to perform end-of-line functional tests on battery packs. The robots match skilled human workers' proficiency but are limited to a few units due to high costs.

X Square Robot: X Square Robot closed a funding round of around 1 billion yuan over the past six months, amid surging investments in China's humanoid robotics sector.

AI² Robotics: AI² Robotics (智元机器人) closed a funding round of around 1 billion yuan in the past six months, mirroring the investment frenzy in China's humanoid robotics sector alongside firms like Spirit AI and X Square Robot.

Unitree Robotics: Unitree Robotics had its listing application accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 20, following a funding round in June 2025 that valued the company at 12.7 billion yuan.

AI generated, for reference only