Faao Robotics closes C+ and D rounds worth nearly $145M for industrial embodied AI

Faao Robotics, a Jiangsu maker of collaborative robots founded in 2019, completed consecutive C+ and D rounds totaling nearly RMB 1 billion, roughly $145M, according to 36Kr. Meituan Longzhu and Meituan led. Yongxin Capital, Shishan Phase II fund and Su Chuangtou took part, and existing investors Guolian Minsheng Capital, Su Chan Investment and Qingliu Capital added more money. Valuation and revenue were not reported. Proceeds are earmarked for capital spending on core component capacity and for R&D in industrial embodied intelligence. Named products include the ART series of industrial-grade humanoid force-control arms and the AIRLab embodied AI tooling platform. Astribot and Yundie are among other Chinese embodied AI companies that raised large rounds this month, and 36Kr's report shows investors favoring hardware makers with real production lines. For founders building robotics software or foundation models, the signal is that capital is flowing toward companies that own manufacturing capacity and key components, not only models. Force-controlled industrial arms are a plausible deployment target for learned manipulation policies.