XPeng’s Robotics Unit Valued at $6.3B After Investment

XPeng has raised more than $900 million in its first external funding round, valuing the company’s humanoid robotics unit at more than $6.3 billion.The funding round, made public on Monday, marks the largest single-round private funding deal recorded in China’s embodied AI industry, amid intensifying competition to commercialize the tech.The financing gives XPeng’s robotics business a standalone valuation as the company moves to separate the unit from its core electric vehicle operations. XPeng will continue to consolidate the robotics business into its financial statements following the transaction.The round was led by IDG Capital, with participation from Beijing venture capital firm Gaorong Ventures and strategic investment from Chinese technology giants Tencent and Alibaba.In a release, XPeng said it will use the funding to accelerate hardware and software development, physical AI model training, data collection and the construction of mass-production facilities, as well as support the company's international expansion.Related:Nvidia’s SONIC Teaches Humanoids to MoveThe company said it will also use the latest investment to begin mass production of its Iron humanoid robot by the end of this year, with a monthly output target of 1,000 units.Iron was built around a full-stack approach spanning XPeng’s robot hardware, control systems and physical AI models. XPeng said the robot has 76 degrees of freedom across its body, including 21 in each hand, and uses three of the company's in-house Turing AI chips to provide up to 2,250 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of computing power.Initial deployments are planned for XPeng stores and industrial campuses, with commercial sales and deliveries in China and overseas markets expected to begin in 2027.“I believe the strong capital backing from leading global and strategic investors provides the resources needed to accelerate the growth of our robotics business,” He Xiaopeng, XPeng CEO, said in the release. “Iron brings together a highly human-like design, advanced AI intelligence, built to the highest standards of safety and quality."The new financing will also give the robotics business more capital to expand its engineering team and develop its production capabilities as XPeng targets global markets.The company is not alone in pursuing the automotive-to-robotics route.Automakers, including Tesla and Hyundai, have also invested heavily in humanoid robotics, betting that expertise in manufacturing, batteries, motors, sensors and AI can provide an advantage as the technology moves from research laboratories into real-world environments.Related:Unitree Shares Surge in Stock Market DebutAbout the AuthorContributing WriterScarlett Evans is a freelance writer with a focus on emerging technologies and the minerals industry. Previously, she served as assistant editor at IoT World Today, where she specialized in robotics and smart city technologies. Scarlett also has a background in the mining and resources sector, with experience at Mine Australia, Mine Technology and Power Technology. She joined Informa in April 2022 before transitioning to freelance work.