Ant Group makes its 12th humanoid investment in 18 months, leading a ¥500M round
Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group led a 500M yuan (~$74M) round in robotics firm Zeroth — its 12th humanoid-sector deal since early 2025, a portfolio spanning Unitree, Galaxea and parts/software startups, plus its own RobbyAnt subsidiary.
Ant Group led a 500 million yuan (~$74M) funding round in humanoid-robotics company Zeroth — its 12th investment in the sector since the start of 2025, per CNBC's analysis of PitchBook data. The portfolio runs from robot makers Unitree and Galaxea to parts and software startups (Linkerbot, Hypershell, Genrobot AI), alongside Ant's own robot subsidiary RobbyAnt and a robot-friendly version of Alipay. Zeroth claims orders for more than 30,000 units and first-half revenue up 600% year over year.
Why it matters
China's humanoid capital stack is consolidating around platform companies, not just VCs: Ant is buying distribution (Alipay), parts, and robot makers simultaneously. For tracked names like Unitree, that is patient strategic capital plus a payments-and-services channel — the kind of ecosystem backing US humanoid startups largely lack.
What to watch
Whether Ant's portfolio starts standardizing on shared components or Alipay integration, and Zeroth's claimed order book converting to deliveries.
Who's involved
Chinese maker of low-cost quadrupeds and the G1/H1/R1 humanoids; filing to IPO.
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