(Yicai) July 30 -- JD.Com has further increased its investments in the robotics sector by leading the latest financing round of RoboScience, the fourth such fundraiser the internet giant has led this month.

RoboScience bagged nearly CNY200 million (USD27.9 million) in an angel financing round, it announced today. New investors China Merchants Venture, a subsidiary of China Merchants Group, and SenseCapital, which is under the leadership of artificial intelligence pioneer SenseTime, joined existing shareholder 01VC in taking part.

On July 21, Spirit AI, LimX Dynamics, and Engine AI announced that JD.Com led their latest fundraisers. An insider from the Beijing-based company told Yicai that the firm is prioritizing emerging technologies such as embodied intelligence and large language models to create a comprehensive innovation ecosystem through in-house development and external investments.

Beijing-based RoboScience was set up last December, with Chief Executive Tian Ye, who was previously machine learning tech lead at Apple, and Chief Scientist Shao Lin, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore, as its two main founders.

In April, RoboScience bagged tens of millions of Chinese yuan, equivalent to millions of US dollars, in a seed funding round. The company is dedicated to developing general embodied intelligence robots, aiming for widespread applications in manufacturing, logistics, retail, households, and others.

China's robotics sector is rapidly expanding, driven by advances in embodied intelligence -- technologies that enable machines to interact physically with their surroundings. Internet giants are intensifying efforts to enter this space.

Meituan, one of JD.Com's competitors, has made six investments in the robotics sector since last year. It participated in the financing rounds of embodied intelligence startups Galaxea and TARS this month.

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.

Editor: Martin Kadiev