Chinese embodied AI startup Vbot has raised about $73 million in a Pre-A funding round to ramp up robot production and accelerate development of full-size humanoid robots, according to a PanDaily report cited by AI Insider on May 11, 2026.
Investor Lineup Co-Led by Three Funds
The round was co-led by Oriental Fortune Capital, Huatai Zijin Investment and Fosun RZ Capital, with participation from investors including SAIC Motor's Shangqi Capital. Vbot said the capital will support mass production, expansion of its offline retail footprint, and continued development of humanoid robots and AI world models built for generalized mobility and manipulation.
Founded by a Horizon Robotics Veteran
Founded in late 2024, Vbot is led by CEO Yu Yinan, a former vice president and founding member of self-driving chip maker Horizon Robotics. He is joined by co-founder Song Wei, formerly Horizon's chief software architect, and Zhao Zhelun, previously director of smart-driving products at Li Auto. The team is pitching Vbot as an integrated embodied-AI company combining custom hardware with proprietary world-model software.
Robot Dog Already Shipping, Humanoid Next
Alongside the funding, Vbot said it has begun shipping its first commercial product, a quadruped robot dog, with an initial production run of 500 units already underway. The company plans to expand monthly production capacity to more than 2,500 units in June and to scale its experience stores across China, the report said. Proceeds will also fund a full-size humanoid robot platform aimed at logistics, retail and service applications.
Part of a Surge in Chinese Embodied-AI Funding
The round adds Vbot to a fast-growing list of Chinese humanoid and embodied-AI startups raising large checks in 2026. Earlier this month, fellow Chinese humanoid maker Robotera secured more than $200 million led by SF Group, while Unitree Robotics is heading toward a Shanghai STAR Market listing targeting roughly $619 million. Western investors are also pouring fresh capital into data infrastructure to keep pace.
Why It Matters
Vbot's Pre-A round is one of the largest early-stage humanoid rounds in China this year, and reflects investor conviction that embodied AI—rather than software-only models—will define the next phase of the AI cycle. With Western incumbents such as Figure AI, Apptronik and 1X scaling deployments, Chinese challengers are racing to industrialize their own platforms before global supply chains harden.
Reporting based on coverage from AI Insider, PanDaily and cntechpost.