Astribot, a Shenzhen company that builds AI robots moved by cables, has raised about RMB 1 billion in a new funding round that values it at RMB 15 billion, Chinese venture news site PEdaily reported on 13 October 2026, carrying the company’s announcement [1]. The English-language robotics site RobotHOT reported the same figures [2].
Who invested
According to PEdaily, the round was led by Toukong Donghai, part of the Shenzhen city-owned Shenzhen Investment Holdings. Hongtai Fund, the Ninghai Xingtaihe Fund managed by Guanghua Yangguang, and Shanheng Capital also took part, and existing investor Xianmu put in more money [1]. (RobotHOT gives some of these names differently in English, for example “Toposcend Capital” for the lead investor [2].)
A fast run of rounds
PEdaily says the round came just three months after Astribot closed a B round of more than RMB 1 billion, and that the company has now completed four rounds in about six months [1]. RobotHOT reported that the valuation rose from RMB 10 billion to RMB 15 billion over those three months [2].
Astribot says it will spend the money on improving its AI models, hiring, selling its robots and building more manufacturing capacity [1].
What “cable-driven” means
Most robot arms have a motor at each joint. Astribot’s robots instead pull on cables, a little like tendons in a human arm. The cables can sense how hard they are pulling and give a little on impact, which can make the robots gentler and safer around people. PEdaily notes the approach is hard to build reliably at scale, because cables wear and their tension must be tightly controlled [1].
Astribot describes itself as the first company in the world to mass-produce cable-driven AI robots [1]. That is the company’s own claim.
The AI side
According to PEdaily, Astribot released Lumo-2 in July, which it describes as the industry’s first “implicit world-action model” for home settings, meaning an AI model meant to help a robot understand a scene and decide how to act in a home. In September it released SmoothRL, a framework that lets robots keep improving their behaviour while they work, rather than relying only on training done beforehand [1].
Founder and chief executive Lai Jie, formerly of Tencent’s Robotics X lab, said investors are the company’s “important fellow travellers and enablers”, and that the round shows support for its approach of building the AI model, operating system and robot body together [1].
What this means
- Shenzhen is backing its own. A city-owned investor leading the round signals local government support for embodied AI, meaning AI that controls physical robots.
- The pace is unusual. Four rounds in about six months stands out even in China’s busy robotics funding market.
- The key claims are the company’s. The “world first” mass-production claim comes from Astribot and has not been independently checked, and the figures come via PEdaily carrying the company’s announcement.
Sources
- PEdaily (投资界), Feng Yuchen, “星尘智能完成10亿元新融资，深圳150亿具身独角兽诞生” (Astribot completes RMB 1bn new financing), 13 October 2026. https://news.pedaily.cn/202610/570167.shtml
- RobotHOT, “China’s Astribot raises 1 bln yuan, valued at 15 bln yuan”, 13 October 2026. https://www.robothot.com/chinas-astribot-raises-1-bln-yuan-valued-at-15-bln-yuan
