(Yicai) July 22 -- The competition between Chinese internet giants JD.Com and Meituan has spilled over from the food delivery sector into the humanoid robot market, with the former investing in three and the latter in two robotics startups this month.

Spirit AI, Engine AI, and LimX Dynamics announced that JD.Com led their latest fundraisers yesterday. The first company secured CNY600 million (USD83.6 million) in a Pre-A+ funding round, while the second bagged CNY1 billion (USD139.3 million) in Pre-A++ and A1 rounds, with JD.Com leading the A1 fundraiser.

Shenzhen-based LimX Dynamics did not disclose any figures, but said the funds will support the mass production and commercialization of full-size humanoid robots and the development of large language models focused on embodied intelligence, with plans to collaborate with JD.Com across retail, logistics, and service applications.

Meituan has participated in six humanoid robot-related fundraisers since last year, including investing more than USD100 million this month.

Galaxea secured over USD100 million from A4 and A5 fundraisers on July 8 and 9, with Meituan's investment arm Meituan Longzhu leading both rounds. The A5 round was co-led by Meituan Dragonball and Meituan Strategic Investment.

On July 8, embodied artificial intelligence startup TARS, or Trusted AI and Robotics Solution, said it bagged USD122 million in an Angel+ fundraiser led by Meituan's strategic investment arm. In May, Meituan was the sole investor in the A financing round of X2 Robot.

Meituan Dragonball is an industrial investment fund under Meituan, whereas Meituan Strategic Investment is its professional investment division.

In addition, JD.Com and Meituan have each invested in "star targets" in the humanoid robot sector. The former took part in the fundraiser of Tencent Holdings-backed AgiBot in May, while Meituan and Meituan Dragonball invested twice in Unitree Robotics last year.

Unitree and Agibot are the most valuable humanoid robot companies, each worth over CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion), an investor told Yicai.

Unitree has initiated the so-called counseling process for an initial public offering, while Agibot plans to acquire high-performance materials maker Swancor Advanced Materials for CNY2.1 billion (USD293.7 million) to complete a backdoor listing.

In the race to commercialize humanoid robots, JD.Com and Meituan can provide financial support and attempt to transform themselves into "mpowering entities" of implementation capabilities through "hidden capital" such as sales channels and scenario resources. For robotics startups, partners that can bring orders, data, and scenarios matter even more than valuations and cash.

Editor: Martin Kadiev