NextFin News — Chinese robotics developer Lexiang Technology announced Thursday that it has closed a Pre-A funding round worth nearly 500 million yuan ($68.8 million) led by tech giant Ant Group to accelerate its household robotics development.
The fresh capital injection brings the startup's cumulative funding to 1 billion yuan ($137.6 million) within 18 months of its inception, coinciding with the official launch of its household embodied AI brand Zeroth (元点). Executive management disclosed that the company's current order pipeline has surpassed 30,000 physical units, driving a 600% year-on-year revenue surge for the first half of 2026.
Capital is flowing selectively toward platform developers capable of scaling high-volume physical hardware alongside advanced digital ecosystems on the Chinese mainland. Ant Group's lead backing points to a broader corporate rush to anchor foundational AI models into consumer-facing household hardware. While many generative computing initiatives remain confined to digital software interfaces, a surging 30,000-unit backlog for a nascent hardware platform indicates that household robotics are rapidly transitioning from conceptual industrial prototypes into standardized retail distribution channels.
Explore more exclusive insights at nextfin.ai.
