The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2023–2026
Galaxea AI bets on embodied AI, valuation breaks 20 billion yuan
Founded in 2023, Galaxea AI raised 2 billion yuan in B+ round, valuation broke 20 billion yuan.
Galaxea AI (星海图)
What the business is
It builds embodied AI robots: a full-stack self-developed "one brain, many forms" system, with an embodied foundation model (EFM) plus bodies such as the wheeled dual-arm humanoid R1 series, sold to developer, industrial, logistics, and retail customers.
Starting capital：About 10 million US dollars angel round in January 2024 (IDG Capital (IDG资本), Baidu Ventures (百度风投), etc.)
How it started
In September 2023, Gao Jiyang, who graduated from Tsinghua University's Department of Electronic Engineering (电子系) and previously worked on autonomous driving at Waymo and Momenta, founded Galaxea AI with co-founders including Zhao Xing, Xu Huazhe (assistant professor at Tsinghua University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences), and Li Tianwei; two months after founding, it completed the first closing of the angel round, betting on "one brain, many forms".
What happened
In 2024, it completed an about 10 million US dollar angel round, received investment from the Beijing Robot Industry Fund (北京机器人产业基金), and completed a Pre-A round of more than 200 million yuan (led by Hillhouse Venture Capital (高瓴创投) and Ant Group (蚂蚁集团)); in 2025, it completed 5 A-series rounds in a row, totaling about 100 million US dollars, with Cathay Capital (凯辉基金), Lenovo Capital (联想创投), Haier Capital (海尔资本), Capital Today (今日资本), Meituan Dragonball (美团龙珠), and others entering. Two months after the R1 launch, it served more than 30 customers. In February 2026, it completed a 1 billion yuan B round, and in April it completed another 2 billion yuan B+ round, with the valuation breaking 20 billion yuan and cumulative financing reaching nearly 5 billion yuan.
How it ended up
As of September 2026: it has closed thousand-unit orders, served more than 150 developer partners, and its wheeled dual-arm robot developer market share ranked first globally in 2025; the company judges 2026 as the first year of productivity-scenario POCs, insists on first making the "0 to 1" solid, plans to begin ten-thousand-unit-scale volume ramp in 2026, and is preparing an industry fund, having invested in nearly 10 ecosystem companies.
Background
Galaxea AI builds "one brain, many forms" embodied AI: one end-to-end embodied foundation model (EFM) drives robot bodies of multiple forms; the core product is the wheeled dual-arm humanoid R1 series with 26 degrees of freedom, maximum payload 10 kg, priced from 199,000 yuan, targeting smart manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, cross-border e-commerce, and home scenarios.
Founder Gao Jiyang was born in 1992, completed his undergraduate degree in Tsinghua University's Department of Electronic Engineering, finished a computer vision PhD at the University of Southern California (南加州大学) in 3.5 years, and previously worked at Waymo and Momenta; in September 2023, he co-founded Galaxea AI with Zhao Xing and Xu Huazhe, assistant professors at Tsinghua University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, and Li Tianwei; two months after founding, it completed the angel round, and financing accelerated throughout.
Its financing pace is one of the most aggressive in this track: about 10 million US dollars angel round and more than 200 million yuan Pre-A in 2024 (led by Hillhouse Venture Capital and Ant Group); 5 A-series rounds totaling about 100 million US dollars in 2025; a 1 billion yuan B round in February 2026 and a 2 billion yuan B+ round in April, with valuation breaking 20 billion yuan and cumulative financing of nearly 5 billion yuan.
The company sticks to a "developers first, productivity later" path: R1 leads in global developer-market coverage, cumulatively serving more than 150 partners, and in 2025 its wheeled dual-arm robot developer market share ranked first globally; it has also closed thousand-unit orders and locked in scenarios such as industrial handling and logistics sorting, with a 2026 goal of moving from POCs to ten-thousand-unit volume ramp.
What has to be true
- One brain, many forms spreads training costs, cutting single-task learning cost 10x.
- R1 at 199,000 yuan attracts developers, building data and reputation barrier.
- Real-scene data plus RSR simulation, with NVIDIA partnership, treats data as moat.
- Capital from Ant, Meituan, Hillhouse, etc., doubled valuation to 20 billion yuan in two months.
- Gao Jiyang sees no large-company suppression, so startups can lead.
What can be applied
Galaxea AI uses a low-priced wheeled humanoid to win developers, then attacks productivity. Monetizing embodied AI is gradual; developer market as wedge, models ahead of hardware.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-01, Galaxea AI's valuation broke 20 billion yuan, cumulative financing near 5 billion yuan. It invests 80% in R&D, released Fast-WAM, cooperates with NVIDIA, and invested in nearly 10 startups. Risk: industry early; founder warns against chasing shipment volume; thousand-unit orders must become ten-thousand-unit revenue.
Sources
- 北京杀出未来独角兽：融资3亿，抢滩3000亿赛道
- 星海图接连完成两轮融资，华兴资本担任独家财务顾问
- 星海图又融资20亿，估值200亿
- 星海图完成B+轮20亿元融资 股东结构多元加速布局产业生态
- 刚获20亿！百亿独角兽CEO终局推演：人类仅余两样东西
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