Insider Brief
- Robotics startup Zerith has completed three funding rounds in rapid succession, raising tens of millions of dollars to scale the commercial deployment of its humanoid robots, according to Yicai Global.
- Founded in January 2025 by Tsinghua University graduates, the company is backed by investors including Baohe Venture Capital, Cowin Capital Group, and Waterwood Asset Management.
- Zerith has launched two robot models for service industries, begun deliveries, and secured intention orders worth nearly $14 million as it advances its vertically integrated platform for embodied AI systems.
Yicai Global reports Zerith, a robotics startup launched earlier this year by a team of recent Tsinghua University graduates, has raised three rounds of funding in rapid succession, securing tens of millions of dollars as it moves to scale production and commercial deployment of its humanoid robots.
The China state-owned news agency reports the company announced it completed two recent rounds, known as Angel+ and Angel++, with backing from a group of investors including Baohe Venture Capital, Cowin Capital Group, Waterwood Asset Management, Mizuho Leaguer Investment, and Nanjing Ralph Entrepreneurship. These follow an earlier angel round in February, just weeks after the company’s founding in January. The fresh capital will support Zerith’s push to refine the core software behind its machines, expand its manufacturing capabilities, and build a data infrastructure for a field known as “embodied intelligence”—a term that refers to AI systems embedded in physical robots capable of interacting with the real world.
According to Yicai Global, Zerith is aiming to accelerate the adoption of robots in commercial settings such as hotels and restaurants. It has already launched two robot models, the Z1 and the H1, and began delivering units of the H1 last month. Larger shipments are expected to begin this month, with plans to deliver 500 robots by the end of the year. The company has reportedly secured preliminary orders worth nearly CNY100 million, or about USD $14 million.
Zerith’s founding team, described by Yicai Global as members of China’s “post-00s” generation, comes from Tsinghua University’s artificial intelligence and robotics lab, the news agency noted. Though young and lacking ties to major robotics or autonomous driving companies, the team has gained recognition for academic work in robot motion control and manipulation. Their research has been featured in several of the field’s top conferences and journals, including Transactions on Robotics, the Conference on Robot Learning, and the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.
Unlike many robotics ventures that rely on third-party software or hardware, Zerith has developed a vertically integrated platform, including its own hardware, core control software, training data pipeline, and scenario-specific applications. The company believes that by focusing on embodied AI systems in targeted commercial domains—such as service robots that can navigate restaurants, hotels, or other indoor venues—it can carve out a profitable niche in a crowded market.
The funding will also go toward forming alliances with industrial partners, government agencies, and ecosystem developers, according to the company’s announcement, according to Yicai Global. A key goal is to create a “data hub” for embodied intelligence, allowing robots to learn and adapt more effectively across real-world environments.
