Ant Group Accelerates Humanoid Robot Push with 12 Investments as China’s Robotics Race Intensifies

Ant Group has led a 500 million yuan (approximately $73.6 million) funding round for humanoid robotics startup Zeroth, marking another step in the company's expanding investment strategy in embodied AI. The financing brings Zeroth's total funding to 1 billion yuan following its pre-Series A fundraising round.

The investment is part of a broader push by Ant Group into the robotics sector. Since the beginning of 2025, the Alibaba affiliate has invested in 12 robotics-related companies, spanning humanoid robot developers, component suppliers and AI software startups. Its portfolio includes companies such as Galaxea, Unitree, Linkerbot, Hypershell and Genrobot AI, reflecting a strategy that covers both complete robotic systems and the technologies that support them.

Ant has steadily broadened its business following the suspension of its landmark IPO in 2020. Beyond expanding healthcare services and developing proprietary AI models, the company established a dedicated humanoid robotics subsidiary, RobbyAnt, in late 2024, which has since introduced its own robot platform. Ant has also adapted its Alipay ecosystem to support AI and robotics applications, creating potential integration opportunities with robotics partners.

Zeroth, officially known as Suzhou JoyIn Intelligent Technology, was founded in late 2024 and is pursuing a phased commercialization strategy for household humanoid robots. The company plans to first target elderly companionship and pet care before expanding into educational robots designed for children, aiming to gradually build broader consumer adoption.

Founder Guo Renjie said the company has assembled a team with experience in industries such as smartphone chip development and currently uses processors from Horizon Robotics. Zeroth also reported receiving orders for more than 30,000 robots, while first-half operating revenue increased 600% compared with the same period last year.

Looking beyond China, the startup plans to begin expanding into North America and Europe later this year after completing local regulatory and compliance requirements. The overseas rollout is expected to support Zeroth's long-term commercialization strategy as demand for intelligent robotics continues to grow globally.

Ant's latest investment comes amid accelerating momentum across China's robotics industry. The country has made embodied AI a strategic priority, while global technology companies are also increasing their commitment to the sector. Earlier this week, Nvidia announced new robotics-related hiring across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, underscoring the growing competition to develop next-generation humanoid robots and the AI technologies that power them.