As one of the representatives of embodied intelligence, the humanoid robot track has been favored by capital in recent years.
Recently, humanoid robot company Magic Atom announced the completion of a new round of strategic financing amounting to hundreds of millions. The funds from this new financing will be used for iterative research and development of core embodied intelligence technologies, building VLA models, and accelerating the deployment of robots in industrial and commercial scenarios.
According to reports, this is the second round of financing exceeding 100 million yuan completed by Magic Atom within six months. The investors this time include strategic industry capital Hechuang Zhiyuan, ChipLink Capital, financial investors Huaying Capital, Xiaochi Capital, and Yuanhe Houwang, while existing shareholders Chuaichuang Venture Capital and Yipu Fund have made additional investments.
“In just the past few months, we have witnessed many advancements in Magic Atom in areas such as scene expansion, product delivery, operational optimization, and team building. We also look forward to more good news in the future,” said Gu Shitao, Investment Director of Chuang Chuang Venture Capital. The company is optimistic about Magic Atom’s systematic approach to “production-research-sales-delivery” and will continue to firmly support the development of Magic Atom, jointly creating a larger and more comprehensive ecosystem for Zhaomi’s Bots.
The reporter from “China Business Journal” noted that in recent years, the humanoid robot sector has become a “darling of capital”. According to incomplete statistics, in 2024, there will be more than 200 investment and financing events in the domestic humanoid robot field, with an investment and financing amount exceeding 20 billion yuan.
Full-link layout acceleration
Currently, Magic Atom has gradually completed the construction of a closed-loop ecosystem of “full-stack self-research technology + full-chain layout + scenario-based applications,” providing fundamental support for the commercialization process.
According to relevant information, Magic Atom was established in January 2024, focusing on the research and application of general Bots and embodied intelligence technology. Its products include general humanoid Bots and quadruped Bots, covering diverse scenarios in industry, commerce, and households. More than 80% of the team consists of R&D personnel, who have long been deeply engaged in core technologies such as Bots body and artificial intelligence algorithms, while also possessing rich experience in engineering and mass production.
The reporter noted that as one of the few teams in the world with full-stack self-research capabilities for general-purpose Bots, Magic Atom’s hardware self-research rate reaches 90%, covering core components such as joint modules, dexterous hands, reducers, and drivers comprehensively. On the software side, its independently developed general-purpose embodied intelligence system supports the rapid deployment and efficient collaborative management of humanoid Bots.
In the view of industry insiders, the technological architecture of “hardware autonomy + software intelligence collaboration” not only significantly reduces supply chain risks and manufacturing costs but also lays a solid technical foundation for the large-scale application of Bots in real-world scenarios such as industry and commerce.
On the other hand, in the construction of the manufacturing system, Magic Atom has formed a complete closed-loop capability from core components to complete machine production through its own production line. “The company’s self-developed hardware has high adaptability and engineering stability, reducing manufacturing costs and integration complexity, laying the foundation for the large-scale deployment of Bots. In terms of whole machine assembly, standardized and modular design is adopted to achieve efficient collaboration between R&D and production.” Magic Atom stated that with its full-stack self-research technology, manufacturing capabilities, and experience in scenario implementation, the company is fully connecting the entire chain layout of humanoid Bots from “buildable” to “usable” and then to “scalable deployment.”
In this regard, multiple investment and financing institutions have expressed optimism. Yuan Feng, founding partner of Xinnian Capital, stated that he is optimistic about the effective closed loop of “ontology-scenario-data” in Magic Atom. “The mass commercial landing of humanoid robots is closely related to the stability and optimization of the supply chain, and both parties will further explore cooperation at the upstream chip and system solution level.”
Jing Wei, founding managing partner of Huaying Capital, also stated that she firmly believes in the embodied intelligence industry, which has a trillion-level ultimate scale. Chinese companies in this field have inherent advantages in hardware costs, data scale, and manufacturing scenarios. “This will be a huge track where China takes the lead in the future.”
The track is hot and “attracting capital”.
In fact, since 2024, the humanoid robot track has become a “darling of capital.”
According to incomplete statistics from the New Strategic Industry Research Institute, the total financing amount for the humanoid robot sector globally has exceeded 8 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year. Among them, the Chinese market has seen over 30 financing rounds, with a total exceeding 4 billion yuan, accounting for more than 50% of the global share.
According to incomplete statistics from the China Robotics Network, in 2024, there were approximately 200 investment and financing events in the robotics industry in mainland China, totaling over 20 billion yuan. Among them, there were about 55 events with amounts near or exceeding 100 million yuan, totaling over 17.5 billion yuan, with a total financing amount exceeding 7 billion yuan.
According to relevant research reports by China Merchants Jinling International, with the increase in R&D investment, the continuous expansion of application scenarios, and strong support from the capital market, the humanoid robot market will continue to grow.
According to reports, this year, Magic Atom will fully enhance the mass production process, starting the production of 400 humanoid Bots based on market demand from sales and partners, and will gradually deploy them into real application scenarios by 2025.
Wu Changzheng, the president of Magic Atom, stated that humanoid Bots can only truly unleash the value of new productive forces by achieving “useful, easy to use, and having users,” which can dig out sustainable business potential in practical scenarios, promote the industry into a new round of high-quality development, and enable Bots to be applied in various fields.
With this round of financing introducing multiple industrial capital, Magic Atom also stated that it will leverage its deep understanding of scenarios and full-stack software and hardware development experience to engage in in-depth cooperation with many industry leaders, including ZM Technology and ChipLink Integration, accelerating the large-scale implementation of humanoid Bots in industrial scenarios and assisting in the intelligent upgrade and transformation of production lines.
“Magic Atom will collaborate with ChipLink to explore the supply chain for core components of humanoid Robots, especially the development of highly integrated electric drive control chips, further optimize mass production processes, and take the lead in defining the core software and hardware industry standards for the humanoid robot industry,” said the Magic Atom side.
At the same time, aiming at the market-oriented process, Magic Atom will continue to deepen strategic cooperation with Chasing Technology. “On the one hand, based on the supply chain procurement collaboration with Chasing, we will share resources at the procurement and production ends to reduce costs and increase efficiency; on the other hand, relying on Chasing’s mature experience in brand building and channel expansion, we will inject new momentum for humanoid Bots to land in diverse scenarios.”
According to a related research report by China Merchants Bank International, by 2030, the market size of humanoid robots is expected to expand to $15.1 billion, corresponding to an annual sales volume of 680,000 units. After 2031, as the cost reduction of the humanoid robot industry chain in China accelerates and the generalization capability of large models improves significantly, “the industry will enter a period of explosive growth.”
However, industry insiders believe that the current industry has just begun to develop and has not yet achieved large-scale commercialization. Ji Wei stated that the current industry is still in its early stages, brain model technology has not yet converged, the data loop has not yet been established, and the application scenarios are not yet clear. “Huaying Capital prefers to choose companies that have specific advantages at the application scenario level and are one step ahead in commercialization exploration. Magic Atom and Zhaomi’s integration at the manufacturing and channel ends ensures the company’s long-term competitiveness.”
In this regard, Magic Atom stated that in the future, the company will work closely with partners to deepen industrial cooperation and resource integration, promoting the industry to achieve a leap from local verification to large-scale application, and realizing the healthy growth and value implementation of the embodied intelligence industry.
(Source: China Business Journal)
Source: East Money
Author: China Business Journal
