Chinese embodied-intelligence startup Spirit AI (known in China as Qianxun Intelligence) has completed a 1.5 billion yuan, or roughly $210 million, Series A+ funding round, the company announced on June 3. Spirit AI said the financing represents the largest single round and the most diverse capital structure to date in China's embodied-intelligence sector.
A broad coalition of capital
The round was jointly backed by top-tier US-dollar venture funds, major industrial strategic investors and national state-owned funds, with existing shareholders significantly increasing their stakes. The result is a capital base that spans financial private-equity firms, international sovereign wealth, industrial giants and regional state assets, a mix Spirit AI argues gives it both the funding and the commercial channels to industrialize physical AI.
Capital meets a benchmark win
The raise landed alongside a technical milestone. On the same day, Spirit AI's self-developed Spirit v1.6 foundation model topped the North American RoboArena leaderboard, outperforming Silicon Valley rivals including Nvidia's Cosmos line to become the first Chinese embodied model to claim a global top ranking. Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Spirit AI pairs its Spirit models with the Moz1 humanoid robot, which it is targeting at automotive manufacturing and smart-logistics lines.
Part of a record China funding wave
The deal extends an extraordinary stretch for Chinese robotics, where embodied-AI startups have logged hundreds of equity financings this year. It follows a string of mega-rounds across the sector, from Neura Robotics' record $1.4 billion Series C to Generalist AI's $400 million raise and THEKER's European Series A. Spirit AI says the new capital will accelerate mass production of its robots and core models and help it become the first to commercialize embodied intelligence at scale across China's smart-manufacturing base.
Reporting based on coverage from Gasgoo, EqualOcean and company statements.