CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Foreign investors warm to China’s cheaper AI valuations despite fears of a U.S. bubble - CNBC
This report is from this week's CNBC's The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what's driving the world's second-largest economy. You can subscribehere.
Key takeaways
The most recent headlines show a surge of activity across the global humanoid‑robot sector. On November 20, Agility Robotics reported that its humanoid logistics robot Digit has completed more than 100,000 tote movements in commercial deployment, proving sustained performance in a live warehouse environment and positioning the company to help address looming manufacturing labor shortages. At the same time, China’s humanoid market is expanding explosively; the National Development and Reform Commission said over 150 Chinese firms have entered the space, prompting officials to warn against a market flood that could crowd out genuine R&D, while a Chinese startup, AgiBot, logged a Guinness World Record by walking 66 miles in three days. Investor appetite is also heating up: Physical Intelligence secured a $600 million financing round that valued the firm at $5.6 billion, and Shenzhen‑based AI2 Robotics highlighted the $1 billion valuation of rival Figure as a benchmark for Chinese startups. Additionally, Huayan Robotics announced it will debut its new S50 heavy‑payload collaborative robot and the high‑speed Elfin cobot at the iREX 2025 exhibition in Tokyo, underscoring the push toward advanced human‑robot collaboration in manufacturing and logistics.
This report is from this week's CNBC's The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what's driving the world's second-largest economy. You can subscribehere.
The big story
Sitting in his new Beijing office, AI2 Robotics Founder and CEO Eric Guo wistfully reflected on fundraising challenges in China — and noted that U.S.-based humanoid rival Figure recently raised $1 billion in a single round, at a $39 billion valuation. The Shenzhen-based startup hit a $1 billion valuation this fall, reaching unicorn status just over two years after launch — thanks to a whopping nine fundraising rounds so far this year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Jiang Zheyuan, chairman of Noetix Robotics, with a robotic android at the company's offices in Beijing, China, on Friday, June 27, 2025.
Na Bian | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A fraction of the money This month alone, at least three China-based funds with an AI focus have raised capital denominated in U.S. dollars from overseas investors:
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