Tencent's Strong Entry Boosts Zhiyuan Robot's Valuation, Ushering in a New Era of Embodied Intelligence

 Tencent's Strong Entry Boosts Zhiyuan Robot's Valuation, Ushering in a New Era of Embodied Intelligence

On March 24, a heavy-hitting piece of news sent shockwaves through the tech and investment communities. According to data from Tianyancha, Shanghai Zhiyuan New Creation Technology Co., Ltd., a company associated with Zhiyuan Robot, underwent significant changes in its business registration. Original shareholders, including Shanghai Lingang New Area Daohe Qianwei Carbon Neutral Fund, exited the company, while Tencent Holdings and Wodulong Electric Drive joined as new shareholders. Tencent acquired approximately 2.06% of the company's shares. Meanwhile, Zhiyuan Robot is actively seeking new funding, with a valuation of 15 billion yuan, sparking intense market enthusiasm.

Wodulong Electric Drive's official WeChat account also announced the successful completion of a strategic investment agreement with Zhiyuan Robot, becoming a strategic shareholder of the company. This news triggered a surge in Wodulong Electric Drive's stock price, which soared to its daily limit of 29.37 yuan, with a trading volume of 6.34 billion yuan, making it a focal point in the capital market. Furthermore, the registered capital of Shanghai Zhiyuan New Creation Technology Co., Ltd. increased from approximately 76.37 million yuan to 80.46 million yuan, and the company's internal management structure underwent changes. Shu Yuanchun stepped down as the company's legal representative, and Deng Taihua took over. According to reports, Deng Taihua serves as the chairman and CEO of Zhiyuan Robot and previously held the position of vice president and general manager of the computing products division at Huawei. His extensive industry experience undoubtedly provides a significant boost to Zhiyuan Robot's development.

Public records show that Peng Zhihui, born in 1993, has long been renowned in the tech community. In 2020, he joined Huawei through the company's "Genius Youth Program" and contributed to the development of Huawei's Ascend AI chips and AI algorithms. However, at the end of 2022, Peng chose to leave Huawei and co-founded Zhiyuan Robot in February 2023. Since its inception, Zhiyuan Robot has demonstrated remarkable fundraising capabilities, garnering intense attention from the capital market. According to Tianyancha, prominent investors, including Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia China, and Baidu, have invested in the company, facilitating its rapid growth.

In terms of technological achievements, Zhiyuan Robot has also made significant strides. The company's website indicates that on December 16, 2024, Zhiyuan Robot successfully initiated mass production of its general-purpose robots. Just half a month later, on January 6, 2025, the company produced its 1,000th general-purpose embodied robot, showcasing its robust production and market expansion capabilities. On March 10, 2025, Zhiyuan Robot unveiled its first general-purpose embodied base model, Zhiyuan Qiyuan. In late 2024, Zhiyuan released AgiBot World, a large-scale, high-quality dataset containing over 1 million trajectories, 217 tasks, and five scenarios. Based on this dataset, Zhiyuan officially released its general-purpose embodied base model, Genie Operator-1 (GO-1). The emergence of this model is expected to accelerate the widespread adoption of embodied intelligence, driving the transformation of robots from task-dependent tools to autonomous entities with general intelligence, and bringing about revolutionary changes in various industries, including commerce, industry, and households. On March 11, Peng Zhihui unveiled the Lingxi X2, a humanoid robot capable of complex interactions, which sparked widespread interest online. The robot can perform tasks such as walking, running, dancing, weightlifting, skateboarding, and riding bicycles, and can be equipped with a dexterous hand for precise operations. Peng Zhihui described the Lingxi X2 as a "spiritual robot" with complex interactive capabilities.

Peng Zhihui's dream is to create robots that are as flexible and intelligent as humans. Over the past two years, he has witnessed the rapid growth of the humanoid robot industry. With Tencent's significant investment, Zhiyuan Robot is poised to take flight, driven by the dual engines of capital and technology. As a result, Zhiyuan Robot is expected to lead the new trend of embodied intelligence, paving the way for a broader landscape in the robotics industry. We eagerly await the company's future achievements.