Xpeng announced on Monday (24) that its robotics business raised more than US$ 900 million in a round that valued the operation at more than US$ 6.3 billion after the investment. The funds will be mainly allocated to the development and scale production of humanoid robots and physical artificial intelligence technologies.
The company says the deal was the largest private round ever in China's embodied AI sector, a segment that combines artificial intelligence systems with machines capable of interacting with the physical world. The round was led by IDG Capital, with participation from Gaorong Ventures and strategic support from Tencent and Alibaba.
Xpeng prepares production of the IRON humanoid
Part of the capital will be applied to hardware and software research and development, training of physical AI models, data generation, and building the infrastructure needed for scale production.
The company's main project in this area is the IRON, a humanoid robot developed with Xpeng's own technology. The machine has 76 degrees of freedom in the body and 21 in each hand, a structure designed to reproduce human movements, and three Turing AI chips with a combined capacity of up to 2,250 TOPS.
According to the company, this computing power allows its physical AI model to run directly on the robot, reducing the need for remote operation for certain tasks.
Xpeng plans to start mass production of the IRON by the end of 2026. The first units are expected to be used in the company's own stores and facilities, while the commercial launch and deliveries to customers in China and other markets are scheduled for 2027.
Even after the round, Xpeng will continue to control the robotics business, which will remain consolidated in the group's financial results.
AI investment grows alongside research expenses
The robotics expansion comes as Xpeng increases investments in new technologies. In the second quarter of 2026, research and development expenses reached 2.91 billion yuan, up 32.1% from the same period a year earlier. The company attributed the increase mainly to the development of new vehicles and technologies related to artificial intelligence.
Quarterly revenue rose 8% year over year, to 19.74 billion yuan, while net loss increased 179.9% to 1.34 billion yuan. The company ended June with a cash position of 40.48 billion yuan.
In addition to humanoids, the physical AI architecture developed by Xpeng is used by the company in electric vehicles and robotaxi projects. The strategy seeks to share chips, AI models, software, and manufacturing expertise across different product categories.
