MarketMoodz
Ant Group Accelerates Humanoid-Robot Push with 12 Deals
Ant Group reportedly led a 500 million yuan funding round in humanoid-robot startup Zeroth, the group's 12th robotics investment since the start of 2025, according to CNBC/PitchBook. Those details — including funding size, investor list, revenue and order figures — could not be independently verified and are drawn from reported sources.
Key Takeaways
- Reportedly, Ant Group led a 500 million yuan round in Zeroth, a humanoid-robotics startup.
- CNBC/PitchBook say Zeroth is the 12th humanoid robotics company Ant has backed since early 2025.
- Zeroth is reported to have raised 1 billion yuan in total, with more than 30,000 orders and H1 2026 revenue up 600% year over year.
- Deal participants named in reports include Monolith, Geely Capital, 37 Interactive Entertainment and Hua Capital; Zeroth is said to use Horizon Robotics chips and have its W1 robot produced by Lexiang Technology.
- Ant has reportedly set up a robotics unit (RobbyAnt) and released an AI- and robotics-friendly version of Alipay, positioning payments and platform assets alongside hardware plays.
People Involved
- Guo RenjieFounder, Zeroth (reported)
Entities Involved
- Ant GroupLead investor and parent fintech group driving robotics push
- Zeroth (Suzhou JoyIn Intelligent Technology)Humanoid robotics startup and recipient of reported funding round
- MonolithReported investor in Zeroth round
- Geely CapitalReported investor in Zeroth round; automotive investor
- 37 Interactive EntertainmentReported investor in Zeroth round
- Hua CapitalReported investor in Zeroth round
- Lexiang TechnologyReported manufacturer of Zeroth W1 robot
- Horizon RoboticsReported supplier of AI chips used in Zeroth robots
- RobbyAnt (Ant subsidiary)Reported Ant humanoid-robot subsidiary created to coordinate robotics investments
- AlipayAnt-owned payments platform reportedly updated with AI- and robotics-friendly features
MarketMoodz Analysis
If the reported deal is accurate, Ant Group's push into a dozen humanoid-robot startups signals a deliberate pivot from pure fintech into an AI-to-automation stack that spans software, chips and hardware. For investors, that could steepen demand curves for AI compute and specialized robotics components—benefiting chip suppliers, industrial manufacturers and software providers in Ant’s ecosystem. Ant's participation also brings a payment and platform angle: integrating robots into a super-app environment would create new distribution channels for devices and services.
History matters here. Ant's 2020 IPO pause forced a strategic reset that has included building AI services and a separate robotics unit; funneling capital into robotics now mirrors China's broader industrial policy to pair AI research with manufacturing scale. The reported involvement of automotive and entertainment investors (Geely Capital, 37 Interactive) highlights cross-sector capital flows that can accelerate supply-chain integration, but it also concentrates exposure to execution risk—robotics remains capital-intensive and commercially uncertain despite headline traction.
Treat the specifics with caution: the funding size, investor list, revenue growth and order figures come from reported sources and could not be independently verified. What to watch next: official filings from Ant or Zeroth, audited revenue/order disclosures, demonstrations of the W1 at verified industry events, supply agreements with chipmakers like Horizon Robotics, and regulatory filings tied to Ant’s RobbyAnt unit or any cross-border sales plans for North America and Europe.
Source: Original Article