EABOT, the Shanghai-based autonomous trucking startup formally known as Shanghai Yibotu Technology (易博图), has raised approximately 400 million yuan, or about $56.1 million, across two consecutive funding rounds, according to Tencent News. Investors include Ge Weidong, Chentao Capital, Hopu Investment, Zero One EV, Xingfu Capital and Lingying Investment's Xiangqi Fund. The round was disclosed on November 5, 2026, less than a year after the company registered in Shanghai's Minhang District in February 2026.
What EABOT builds
EABOT develops autonomous heavy-duty trucks for short-haul bulk material transport, targeting routes of roughly 0 to 300 kilometers across complex terrain. The company already has more than 100 trucks deployed across 60 active routes in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, generating over 200 million data clips and more than 100 million auto-annotated frames per month from real-world operations.
CEO and CTO Li Wei previously led algorithm development at autonomous driving firm Wincept. The core team was recruited from Huawei, Li Auto, Momenta and Apple, bringing backgrounds spanning both autonomous driving perception and model development.
Why heavy-duty bulk haulage is the target
EABOT is chasing a narrower, higher-volume use case than passenger robotaxis: moving bulk materials such as coal and ore over fixed short-haul routes in mining regions, where driver shortages and harsh terrain make automation economically attractive even without full public-road autonomy. The 200 million monthly data clips the company already collects from its live fleet give it a real-world data advantage over startups still validating technology in closed test tracks.
Investors and competitive landscape
The round's investor mix, anchored by industrial and private capital rather than big tech, points to EABOT targeting mining and logistics operators directly rather than consumer-facing autonomy. That puts it in a different lane from humanoid-focused Chinese robotics names like AgiBot and Unitree, and closer to the freight-automation space occupied by companies such as Humble Robotics in the US, which raised $51 million for cabless electric trucks days earlier.
What to watch next
With less than a year of operating history and under $60 million raised, EABOT's next milestone will be whether it can expand beyond its current Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia routes into other mining regions, and whether its data-collection pace translates into measurable gains in autonomy reliability on harsher terrain.