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EV maker Xpeng set to challenge Tesla in embodied AI after robotics unit raises US$900m

Backers including Alibaba, Tencent and IDG put up a combined US$600 million while Xpeng itself pledges US$200 million

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Xpeng’s humanoid robot Iron stands at the EV maker’s booth during the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, April 23, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Daniel Renin Shanghai
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng has secured US$900 million in funding from high-profile investors including Alibaba Group Holding and IDG Capital to spur its robotics unit, despite a widening second-quarter loss.

Dogotix, a subsidiary of Xpeng, raised US$900 million in the latest round of financing, which valued it at US$6.3 billion, Xpeng said in a statement on Monday, adding that the fundraising marked the biggest single private-equity deal involving a Chinese robotics maker.

The fresh capital would give Xpeng a shot in the arm as it joins the fray against Tesla to build and sell humanoid robots to tap global investor enthusiasm in embodied artificial intelligence.

“I believe Xpeng will not only build one of China’s most valuable humanoid robotics companies, but also become a global leader in physical AI, spearheading the large-scale adoption and commercialisation of advanced general-purpose humanoid robots and autonomous driving technologies in China and overseas,” He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of the company, said in the statement.

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