Startup Agibot to build Shanghai’s first production factory for humanoid robot
- At the February 28 shareholder meeting, Agibot’s executives announced this year’s goal: to empower industrial and commercial sectors through its A2 and C5 robots.
Agibot (智元机器人), a humanoid robot startup, will likely build Shanghai’s first mass production plant for humanoids under the auspices of the local government, The Paper, a major local news app, reported today.
The startup, which rose to prominence last year due to its strides in humanoid robotics, recently inked a new agreement to cement its ties with Lingang Group.
Lingang is a major state-run conglomerate with business interests spanning automaking, manufacturing, shipping, IT, biopharma, new material and port machinery, among others.
Bulk purchase of robots
Under the agreement, the two sides will work together to build a smart robot production factory in Pudong’s Lingang New Area, a 873-square-km parcel of land in the east of Shanghai.
Agibot announced at its 2024 inaugural shareholder conference, held on February 28, that other arrangements are also underway, as part of its deepening cooperation with Lingang Group.
They include terms like bulk purchase of Agibot’s humanoid robots, signing of new partnership deals and a plan to kick off their production at its factory in Fengxian, a district where Lingang Group has a cluster of industrial parks.
Official sponsorship
It’s unclear how big the startup’s production facility will be or when it is slated to become operational, since no revelation is available in Chinese media reports.
But The Paper story did specify that upon completion, the plant will become Shanghai’s first mass production base for humanoid robots, paving the way for the contraption’s commercial application.
Lingang Group has led the way in supporting the development of Agibot, which was up and running only toward the end of 2022.
Their ties date back to August 2023, when the two entities entered a strategic partnership for the first time.
Scenarios in airport, factory?
The group pledged then to open up a few scenarios like automaking, 3C manufacturing and logistics, for the young startup to test and iterate its technologies.
This time around, several units under Lingang Group and other established state corporations like Shanghai Airport Authority and China Telecom also followed suit, by joining forces with Agibot to procure and deploy its robots.
Initial applications will likely take place at the city’s two airports and a 5G-powered, AI-driven smart factory.
Personal charisma of ‘Zhi Hui Jun’
The firm became a fast-rising star on China’s robust humanoid robot scene thanks partly to its co-founder and tech influencer Peng Zhihui, aka “Zhi Hui Jun,” who introduced its first bipedal humanoid robot Raise A1 on August 18.
The company has since been fast enlarging its product offerings. Word about A2, an upgraded version of A1, and C5, a new model, did not come out until recently, as Agibot appears to keep everything under wraps.
Details of these two prototypes remain publicly unknown.
At the February 28 shareholder meeting, Agibot’s executives announced this year’s goal: to empower industrial and commercial sectors through its A2 and C5 robots.
Fastest unicorn
Apart from generous official support, the company has other resources to count on. Within less than a year of its inception, it closed five fundraising rounds from leading investors like GL Ventures, BlueRun Ventures and Chinese EV giant BYD.
The latest raise came in December 2023, infusing more than 600 million yuan (US$83.84 million) in a Series A+++ round into Agibot, and making it one of the fastest startups to attain the unicorn status — or a valuation of US$1 billion.
The report by The Paper revealed that the startup is looking to complete a fresh round of financing at a pre-money valuation of 7 billion yuan.
