Alibaba Invests $100 Million in Chinese Humanoid Robot Startup X Square Robot

The race to develop household robots is intensifying as X Square Robot, a Shenzhen-based humanoid startup, announced it had secured $100 million in a new funding round led by Alibaba Cloud.

Rapid Fundraising, Bold Ambitions

According to Yang Qian, Chief Operating Officer of X Square Robot, this marks the company’s eighth funding round in less than two years since its founding in December 2023. Total investment in the startup has now reached 2 billion yuan ($280 million).

Other notable investors participating in the round include HongShan (formerly Sequoia Capital China), Meituan, Legend Star, Legend Capital, and INCE Capital. The company declined to disclose its current valuation.

AI-Powered Future for Humanoids

Investor interest in humanoid robots has surged as expectations grow that integration with generative artificial intelligence (AI) will transform how machines interact with humans.

Yang noted: “Robots need AI to execute and complete complex tasks autonomously. Only then can they move beyond basic functions like grasping objects.”

On September 8, the company also unveiled Wall-OSS, described as the world’s first open-source AI foundation model dedicated to robotics. X Square Robot believes the technology could make “robotic butlers” a reality within five years.

New Robot Quanta X2 and IPO Plans

Alongside software innovations, the startup launched its Quanta X2 robot, designed with the ability to attach mop heads for 360-degree cleaning and hands capable of detecting subtle pressure changes — advancing toward more human-like movement.

While the company has yet to release a mass-market product, industry tracker Humanoid Guide estimates the price of one X Square humanoid robot at $80,000. Rival Unitree currently offers a humanoid model for around $16,000, though its functionality remains unclear.

X Square Robot is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, though the listing venue has not been determined. The company already generates revenue from sales to schools, hotels, and retirement homes, and is expanding outreach to customers in Japan and Singapore.

Price Challenge and Market Outlook

Yang emphasized that for humanoid robots to enter the consumer market at scale, prices would need to fall to around $10,000, largely through reductions in hardware costs. She expects this milestone could be achieved within three to five years.