China's Zhongke Huiling raises hundreds of millions of yuan to scale factory robots
What's the deal? Beijing Zhongke Huiling Robot Technology has raised a Series A extension round worth several hundred million yuan, the embodied-AI startup announced on October 26, 2026. Investors included Zhilai Investment, Yonghua InvestmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Maotian Investment, Yuanhe ChenkunDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Guoke Kezhi, and Luning Investment.
What does it do? Founded in 2023 and backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of AutomationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the company builds a full-stack system spanning robot bodies, an embodied "brain," and dexterous hands. It targets industrial manufacturing, mining energy, and commercial services.
What's the money for? The company said funds will accelerate mass-production delivery, research on its embodied "brain" for key scenarios, and market expansion. In June 2025, it raised nearly US$13.8M in a Series A led by Lens TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The traction: Zhongke Huiling disclosed it holds over US$55M in shoe-making robot orders for 2026, with scheduled production in the thousands of units. At a Putian footwear plant, its system clocked seven seconds per sole-stamping cycle and 18 seconds to press a pair of soles.
The signal: Capital is still flowing into China's embodied-AI race, but it is landing more selectively with firms showing real deployments and delivery progress. "Embodied intelligence is moving from concept to industrial validation; we care more about commercial implementation in real scenarios," said Tang Zheng, managing director at Yonghua Investment. The open question is whether pilots convert into repeatable orders and stable revenue.
Read more: sohu.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
