XPeng Inc., a global Physical AI company, announced that its robotics business has raised over US$900 million at a post-money valuation of more than US$6.3 billion — the largest single-round private financing yet recorded in China’s embodied AI industry. The round was led by IDG Capital, with participation from Gaorong Ventures and strategic backing from Tencent and Alibaba.

XPeng will retain controlling ownership of the robotics business upon closing, with the unit continuing to be consolidated into the group’s financial statements. The company said the funding will accelerate mass production of its IRON humanoid robot and further development of its Physical AI foundation models.

76 degrees of freedom, three Turing AI chips

IRON, XPeng’s next-generation humanoid robot, is built on a fully in-house technology stack spanning hardware and software. The robot features 76 degrees of freedom across its body and 21 in each hand, powered by a proprietary fully enclosed flexible lattice structure designed to balance safety and aesthetics.

On the intelligence side, IRON runs on three Turing AI chips delivering up to 2,250 TOPS of effective computing power, enabling XPeng’s Physical AI foundation model to run directly on the robot without remote operation. XPeng said this supports low-latency inference and stronger data security as the robot performs complex tasks autonomously.

• Post-money valuation: over US$6.3 billion — a record for China’s embodied AI sector
• Hardware: 76 degrees of freedom, 21 per hand, three Turing AI chips at 2,250 TOPS
• Timeline: mass production by end-2026, commercial deployment at XPeng stores and campuses, with China and overseas deliveries from 2027

Funding to power a “data-model-application flywheel”

XPeng said the capital will primarily fund software and hardware R&D, Physical AI model training, high-quality data generation, mass production facilities and global commercial expansion. The company frames IRON’s human-like form as a strategic advantage, allowing it to draw on behavioural data from everyday human activity to accelerate learning as deployment scales.

“XPENG’s humanoid robot exemplifies the current standard of excellence in China’s humanoid robotics industry and possesses the competitive strength to succeed in global markets,” said IDG Capital.

“With its highly anthropomorphic form factor and automotive-grade standards for safety and quality, XPENG IRON is built for commercial deployment. It serves not only as an intuitive, human-centered interface but also as a critical gateway to real-world data,” said Gaorong Ventures.

“IRON brings together a highly human-like design, advanced AI intelligence, built to the highest standards of safety and quality. Our ambition is for IRON to become a trusted partner for people and a meaningful part of everyday work and life,” said He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO, XPeng.

XPeng is headquartered in Guangzhou, China, and is dual-primary listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.