The excitement surrounding humanoid robots is not particularly recent. Credit Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and his Optimus robot, as well as the numerous videos showcasing Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot, for that.

However, beneath that excitement lies significant advancement. The physical skills of robots are steadily advancing, and researchers now believe that the AI methods utilized in large language models can enable sophisticated robots to learn virtually any task.

These favorable conditions have motivated a new wave of companies to seize the potential profits from humanoid robots. Many of the newest players are automakers from China.

Earlier this week, Xpeng’s robotics division secured over $900 million at a post-money valuation exceeding $6.3 billion. The funding round, spearheaded by IDG Capital with contributions from Gaorong Ventures, Tencent, and Alibaba, was characterized by the company as the largest single-round private financing ever documented in China’s “embodied AI” sector (AI systems integrated directly into physical devices).

This month, AiMOGA, the robotics division of China’s Chery Automobile, reportedly started preparations for an IPO, while BYD introduced a humanoid robot named Xiao Di. Other Chinese automotive manufacturers, including Changan, GAC, Li Auto, SAIC, and Seres, are also in the process of developing humanoid robots.

Among these, Xpeng stands as the Chinese automaker that closely monitors and adopts Tesla’s strategies, according to Michael Dunne, CEO of advisory firm Dunne Insights, based in San Diego and Singapore.

“It’s the most dedicated to autonomy, and it’s the first to significantly invest in humanoid robots,” Dunne stated to TechCrunch, adding that Xpeng’s founder He Xiaopeng is a tech billionaire noted for his adaptability and swift changes. “He perceives razor-thin profits in cars on the immediate horizon. Robots appear much more promising.”

Xiaopeng and Xpeng co-president Brian Gu are optimistic enough to have invested their own money into the robotics division. According to the Wall Street Journal, the duo contributed around $100 million to the recent funding round.

Xpeng is focusing on Iron, a humanoid robot that has a lifelike human form and is designed for commercial deployment.

Chinese automakers such as Xpeng do offer a manufacturing advantage.

“They possess all the hardware necessary to complete the task,” Dunne remarked. “The question is whether they can keep pace with Tesla in AI.”

Naturally, many other firms are also developing humanoid robots, including Agility Robotics, Apptronik, and Figure, all pursuing the same aim: large-scale commercial deployment.

Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics is nearing that objective. Hyundai plans to integrate Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot into its factory in Georgia this year, with the goal of employing the robots for tasks like parts sequencing by 2028. The Korean automaker, which has teamed up with Google’s AI research lab DeepMind to expedite the development of Atlas, is opening a U.S. facility this year called a Robot Metaplant Application Center, which will instruct robots on how to navigate movements like lifts and turns.

Other automotive companies are also joining the trend, including supplier Mobileye, which purchased humanoid robot startup Mentee Robotics earlier this year for $900 million. Even Rivian is exploring robotics with its Mind Robotics spinout — although its robots are not anticipated to resemble the humanoids under development elsewhere.