X Square Robot, a Shenzhen-based humanoid startup, received $100 million in funding led by Alibaba Group Holding through Alibaba Cloud, boosting its presence in the robotics market. The total funding now stands at approximately $280 million, with revenue generated from sales to educational institutions, hospitality venues, and senior care facilities.
Venture capitalists are heavily investing in humanoid robotics, with X Square Robot completing eight funding rounds in under two years. The company emphasizes the importance of AI in expanding machine capabilities and autonomous task completion, moving beyond limited functions like grasping objects.
X Square Robot unveiled WALL-OSS, an embodied foundation model focusing on vision-language-action alignment for manipulation tasks in real-world settings. The Quanta X2 robot features 360-degree cleaning capabilities and advanced hands for commercial robotics applications, signaling a move towards more human-like functionality.
The company’s humanoid robots currently cost $80,000, with plans to reduce prices to around $10,000 in the next three to five years. X Square Robot aims to introduce “robotic butlers” within that timeframe and is preparing for an IPO next year while expanding internationally.
AI for robotics is progressing, but X Square Robot notes that advancements in chatting and code generation are ahead. The company uses Nvidia chips for computing but relies on automotive chips domestically for flexibility in the supply chain. Discussions for potential customers in Japan and Singapore are ongoing.
X Square Robot believes that AI technology for robotics will catch up to ChatGPT 3.5 capabilities within a year, emphasizing the importance of embodied AI in measuring progress. The company’s hybrid approach to chip sourcing provides flexibility as it scales operations to meet growing demand across educational, hospitality, and healthcare sectors.
Read more at Yahoo Finance: Alibaba’s $100M Investment Fuels X Square Robot’s Push For Embodied AI, Global Sales, And Next-Gen Humanoids