Qianxun Intelligent Secures $73M Pre-A to Advance Embodied AI

Beijing, China – Spirit AI, a leading Chinese company specializing in embodied intelligence, has announced the completion of a RMB 528 million (approximately $73 million USD) Pre-A funding round. The investment, led by Prosperity7 Ventures (P7), the venture capital arm of Aramco Ventures, with participation from a consortium of investors, will fuel the company’s efforts to advance its embodied large model, enhance its robot platform, and expand its talent pool.

Founded in February 2024, Spirit AI boasts a team of experts from top universities like UC Berkeley, CMU, Tsinghua University, and Peking University, as well as leading technology companies such as ByteDance, Xiaomi, and Tencent. The company is dedicated to developing general-purpose humanoid robots and next-generation embodied AI models and learning algorithms, aiming to bring intelligent robot companions into every household and drive the world towards a new era of intelligent robotics.

This latest funding round included significant participation from prominent investors such as China Merchants Capital, GF Xinde Investment Management, Jinga Ventures, Eastern Fortune Capital, and Hua Kong Fund. Strategic support was also provided by the Shanfu Science and Technology Sub-Fund, jointly established by Huafa Group, the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Mother Fund, and listed company Zhejiang Orient in Hangzhou. Existing investors, including Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC), Beright Capital, H&H Capital, and Qiancheng Capital, also increased their investments in this round, demonstrating strong confidence in Spirit AI’s potential.

This Pre-A funding is a significant milestone for Spirit AI, said [Name and Title of Spirit AI spokesperson, if available, otherwise omit]. It will allow us to accelerate our research and development efforts, particularly in the areas of embodied large models and robot hardware, and attract top talent to our team. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of embodied AI and creating robots that can truly make a difference in people’s lives.

VLA Model: A Key Differentiator

Spirit AI’s core competitiveness lies in its world-class team and its focus on developing advanced AI models for embodied intelligence. A key breakthrough for the company has been its proprietary Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model, Spirit v1. The company recently showcased a demonstration of Spirit v1, where a robot successfully performed the complex task of folding clothes. This achievement represents a significant advancement in the field, as folding clothes requires robots to handle highly variable and unpredictable factors such as fabric wrinkles, textures, and orientations.

Folding clothes is a notoriously difficult task for robots, explained [Name and Title of Spirit AI spokesperson, if available, otherwise omit]. It requires a high degree of dexterity, perception, and planning. Our VLA model allows our robots to understand the visual and tactile information they receive and translate that into precise and coordinated movements.

The success in tackling the challenge of folding clothes highlights Spirit AI’s progress in addressing long-range manipulation of flexible objects, a critical capability for robots operating in real-world environments.

Looking Ahead

With this substantial funding, Spirit AI is poised to further solidify its position as a leader in the embodied AI space. The company plans to continue investing in research and development, expanding its team, and building strategic partnerships to accelerate the deployment of its robots in various industries. The company’s vision is to create robots that can assist humans in a wide range of tasks, from household chores to industrial automation, ultimately improving efficiency and quality of life.

About Spirit AI:

Spirit AI is a leading AI+robotics company dedicated to developing general-purpose humanoid robots and next-generation embodied AI models and learning algorithms. Founded in 2024, the company is headquartered in [Location of headquarters, if available, otherwise omit] and has assembled a world-class team of experts from top universities and leading technology companies.

About Prosperity7 Ventures:

Prosperity7 Ventures (P7) is the venture capital arm of Aramco Ventures, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco. P7 invests in disruptive technologies that have the potential to transform industries and improve lives.

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