Chinese tech giant Tencent joins latest investment round in Shanghai robotics start-up Agibot

Robots have become a hot investment area in China as VC firms, supply chain partners and tech giants jostle to back leading start-ups

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Published: 9:00pm, 25 Mar 2025Updated: 9:29pm, 25 Mar 2025

China’s video gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings has joined the latest round of investors in humanoid robotics start-up Agibot, in a fresh example of a China Big Tech firm betting on the robotics industry.

The Shanghai-based firm, also known as Zhiyuan Robotics, confirmed that the new financing round also included money from Lanchi Ventures, Longcheer Technology, Wolong and Zhuhai Huafa Group.

It did not specify the investment amounts, but according to Chinese corporate database Tianyancha, the company’s registered capital has increased to 80.46 million yuan (US$11.1 million) from 76.37 million yuan.

Robots, particularly the humanoid kind, have become one of the hottest investment areas in China as venture capital firms, supply chain partners and deep-pocketed tech giants jostle to invest in leading start-ups.

Agibot has become a rising star in China’s robotics industry partly thanks to its strong founding team, which includes Peng Zhihui, a former recruit from Huawei Technologies’ “Genius Youth” programme, and Yan Weixin, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

A robot from Agibot is seen during the Global Developer Conference in Shanghai on February 21, 2025. Photo: AFP

The firm’s CEO and chairman Deng Taihua, formerly vice-president and head of computing products at Huawei, recently took on the role of legal representative – a move described by the company as “a routine change”, without providing further details.