(Yicai) April 8 -- Shenzhen-based robot chip maker D-Robotics said today it has raised USD150 million in a B2 financing round, bringing its total Series B funding to USD270 million and underscoring continued investor interest in the underlying technologies powering embodied artificial intelligence.

The latest fundraising follows a USD120 million B1 round completed just 20 days ago and a USD100 million Series A round in May last year. The size of the new round and the lineup of investors highlight ongoing capital investment in foundational capabilities for embodied AI amid growing divergence in robotics sector financing.

Investors in the B2 round include a retail technology and supply chain giant, ride-hailing company Didi Global, Prosperity7 Ventures, GL Ventures, Temasek Holdings-backed Vertex Growth, and 5Y Capital. Participants in the B1 round included Didi Global, Meituan Long-Z Fund, BAIC Capital, Xilian Capital, and Joyoung Family Office, according to the company.

D-Robotics was spun off from the artificial intelligence of things division of autonomous driving chip developer Horizon Robotics in January 2024. The company focuses on providing underlying computing platforms and general-purpose hardware and software infrastructure for consumer robots and embodied AI applications.

Its current product lineup includes the RDK S600 robot computing development platform and embodied AI model systems HoloBrain and HoloMotion. The company said these systems enable a closed-loop capability spanning perception, decision-making, and control, while supporting a “one brain, multiple forms” approach that allows the same model to be adapted across different types of robots.

This structure resembles the “chip + toolchain + algorithm” model established by Horizon Robotics in the autonomous driving sector. Industry observers believe D-Robotics is attempting to replicate this strategy in robotics by starting with computing platforms and expanding into operating systems and ecosystem development.

D-Robotics said its shipments jumped 180 percent last year from the previous year, while its customer base grew 200 percent. The firm added that it has launched more than 100 robot products and built a developer community exceeding 100,000 users across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. The company did not disclose total shipment volumes or its revenue breakdown.

Editor: Emmi Laine