Alibaba affiliate Ant Group is accelerating its push into humanoid robotics, leading a new $73.6 million funding round for Chinese startup Zeroth, making it the twelfth company in the sector it has invested in over the past 18 months.
The operator of the Alipay mobile payments platform led a 500 million yuan ($73.58 million) pre-Series A investment in Zeroth Robotics, the startup announced Thursday. The funding round also included Monolith, Geely Capital, 37 Interactive Entertainment, and Hua Capital, bringing Zeroth's total fundraising to 1 billion yuan.
Chinese regulators halted Ant's record-breaking initial public offering in late 2020, forcing the company to overhaul its business. Since then, Ant has diversified into healthcare technology, launched its own large language AI models and, in late 2024, established a dedicated humanoid robotics subsidiary called RobbyAnt, which has already developed its own robot prototype.
The company is also adapting its ecosystem to support robotics. Ant recently introduced an AI- and robotics-compatible version of its Alipay payment platform, an area where Zeroth said it hopes to collaborate with the fintech giant.
Founded only in late 2024 under the name Suzhou JoyIn Intelligent Technology, Zeroth is pursuing a phased strategy to bring humanoid robots into consumers' homes.
Founder Guo Renjie previously told CNBC the company plans to first deploy companion robots designed for elderly care and pet care before expanding into educational robots for children.
The approach reflects a growing trend among robotics companies to target specialized consumer applications before attempting to develop fully general-purpose humanoids.
The company says demand is already building. Zeroth claims it has secured orders for more than 30,000 robots and reported that revenue during the first half of 2026 surged 600% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Guo also said the startup intends to begin selling its robots in North America and Europe this fall after completing local regulatory and compliance requirements. To build its technology, Zeroth has recruited engineers with experience in industries including smartphone chip development. Its current robots run on processors produced by Chinese semiconductor company Horizon Robotics.
Ant's latest investment comes amidst a broader surge of interest in humanoid robotics across China. Earlier this week, U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA announced it was hiring for multiple robotics-related positions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The global humanoid robot industry has gained momentum thanks to advances in generative artificial intelligence, which have significantly improved robots' abilities to operate.
China has made humanoid robotics a strategic national priority as it seeks to offset labor shortages created by an aging population while maintaining its manufacturing competitiveness. Government support, combined with the country's deep electronics supply chain, has helped fuel rapid investment across the sector.
