The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2023–2026
Robot Era Bets on Humanoid Robots: B2B First, Then Consumer
Chen Jianyu founded Robot Era in 2023, betting VLA and world models enable B2B humanoid robots; orders exceeded RMB 500 million in 2025.
Robot Era (星动纪元)
What the business is
Full-stack self-developed embodied intelligence and humanoid robots: embodied large model ERA-42, humanoid robots Robot Era L7/M7 (星动L7/M7), wheeled robot Robot Era Q5 (星动Q5), and XHAND dexterous hand; sells robots and industry solutions.
Starting capital：Seed round of tens of millions of RMB (led by Century Golden Resources, October 2023); angel round of over RMB 100 million (led by Lenovo Capital, January 2024); Pre-A round of nearly RMB 300 million (led by Alibaba and others, October 2024); Series A+ rounds totaling approximately RMB 3 billion in 2025-2026.
How it started
In August 2023, Chen Jianyu, assistant professor at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University (PhD from UC Berkeley, studying under Tomizuka, a founder of MPC control theory), founded Robot Era (星动纪元) in Beijing. He decided to start a business in the second half of 2022: universities cannot support capital-intensive robot R&D, and after seeing Tesla release a robot he felt a stronger sense of urgency; he argued that robots should not only run and jump in laboratories but should enter factories and warehouses as products.
What happened
Continuous financing from 2023 to 2025: a seed round from Century Golden Resources, an angel round from Lenovo Capital, and a Pre-A round led by Alibaba and others; in December 2024 it open-sourced the Video Prediction Policy VPP, and in October 2025 it released the world model Ctrl-World with the Chelsea Finn team at Stanford University, improving the average success rate of tasks in unfamiliar scenarios by 44.7%. Total orders in 2025 exceeded RMB 500 million, overseas share was 50%, nine of the world's top 10 technology companies by market capitalization were customers, and the largest single logistics order was nearly RMB 50 million.
How it ended up
Expanding and pursuing a listing: in November 2025 it completed a Series A+ round of nearly RMB 1 billion, led by Geely Capital with strategic investment from BAIC Industrial Investment; in less than four months of 2026 it completed three consecutive Series A+ rounds (RMB 1 billion, RMB 1 billion, and about RMB 1.4 billion), and its valuation exceeded RMB 10 billion in March 2026; in Q2 2026 it began thousand-unit-level deliveries, and in August reports said it plans a Hong Kong IPO to raise USD 800 million to USD 1 billion.
Background
Robot Era, founded in Beijing in August 2023, is incubated by Tsinghua's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, the only embodied intelligence company directly held by Tsinghua. Founder Chen Jianyu, a youngest doctoral supervisor, earned PhD from UC Berkeley under Tomizuka, recruited by Andrew Yao in 2020. He started the business in late 2022 because universities can't support capital-intensive robot R&D, and Tesla's robot launch increased urgency.
The company bets on full-stack self-developed hardware-software integration. It bets on VLA and world models: open-sourced VPP in December 2024, released Ctrl-World with Stanford in October 2025, raising success rates by 44.7%. It insists on B2B first, entering logistics sorting: 2025 orders exceeded RMB 500 million, overseas share 50%, nine of top 10 tech companies were customers, largest logistics order nearly RMB 50 million.
Capital followed: in November 2025 completed Series A+ of nearly RMB 1 billion led by Geely Capital with BAIC; in 2026 completed three rounds in under four months, valuation exceeding RMB 10 billion in March, thousand-unit deliveries in Q2. In August 2026, reports said it plans Hong Kong IPO raising USD 800 million to USD 1 billion; if completed, it would be the first listed Tsinghua-affiliated embodied intelligence firm.
What has to be true
- B2B logistics have standardized processes and high fault tolerance, validating earlier than household scenarios.
- Self-developed XHAND dexterous hand generates revenue and collects data for ERA-42, forming a closed loop.
- Tsinghua direct holding and Chen's background attract industrial capital like Century Golden, Lenovo, Alibaba, Geely, BAIC.
- Full-stack self-development above 95% controls costs and technology in mass production.
- Overseas share 50% in 2025 shows independence from policy benefits.
What can be applied
Choose standardized B2B scenarios with high fault tolerance and clear buyers; real data feeds models, spinning the flywheel better than household robots.
Aftermath
As of August 2026, Robot Era expands and prepares for IPO: in 2026 completed three Series A+ rounds in under four months (two of RMB 1 billion, one of about RMB 1.4 billion), valuation exceeding RMB 10 billion in March; in Q2 began thousand-unit deliveries, deploying with China Post in over 10 logistics centers across 5 provinces, sorting efficiency over 85% of manual. In August, reports said it plans Hong Kong IPO raising USD 800 million to USD 1 billion, unconfirmed. It insists on B2B first; VP Wang Letian expects household scenarios need at least five more years.
Sources
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