Alibaba Leads $140 Million Funding Round In X Square Robot

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-led the latest funding round in robotics startup X Square Robot, as the Chinese e-commerce company is trying to cement its leadership in emerging technologies. 

The Hangzhou-based company has said it plans to spend $53 billion on AI infrastructure over three years in a major pivot. Artificial intelligence advancements promise to usher in a new generation of smarter robotics, and Beijing has made developing that sector a national priority.

Shenzhen-based X Square Robot, founded in 2023, secured 1 billion yuan ($140 million) in the most recent round co-led by Alibaba’s cloud unit and state-backed CAS Investment Management Co. 

Other investors in the Series A+ round include HSG as well as existing backer Meituan and Legend Star, X Square said in a statement. 

Unlike some of its larger rivals, such as Hangzhou’s Unitree Robotics, X Square has been focusing more on algorithms powering robotics rather than hardware, founder and Chief Executive Officer Wang Qian said in a recent interview with local outlet The Paper. 

On Monday, the startup unveiled its Wall-OSS open source foundation model. It appears to be a move to compete with OpenAI-backed Physical Intelligence, which is trying to build high-level intelligence into a wide variety of robots and machines.

X Square’s website advertises three physical products - two wheeled robots and a robotic arm, at a time that many local startups are touting two-legged humanoid offerings. 

Chinese robotics firms, especially those making humanoid products, have been trying to capture wide global attention this year by putting on their creations for marathons and boxing matches. State-backed funds are flocking to a sector that Citigroup expects a size of $7 trillion globally by 2050.