- Backers include a Shanghai Jiao Tong University-linked AI fund, Shanghai Innovation Academy affiliate and Wuxi Data Group
- Startup targets industrial-scale data generation and new service-sector applications for embodied AI
Embodied AI startup Noematrix (穹彻智能) has secured several hundred million yuan in a Series A++ funding round from investors including the Shanghai Jiao Tong University AI Future Fund, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Shanghai Innovation Academy, Wuxi Data Group and V-Capital.
This round comes as the Shanghai-based firm accelerates commercialization of its robotics foundation models.
Proceeds from the round will fund continued development of Noematrix’s embodied AI models and help build an industrial delivery center in Jiangsu’s Wuxi, as the company looks to expand beyond pharmacies into factory-floor deployments, according to Noematrix.
Prior to the latest round, Noematrix had already attracted backing from international financial investors including Prosperity7 Ventures, HongShan and C Capital, as well as strategic investors such as Alibaba and Sea Limited.
Strong links to SJTU
Founded in November 2023 by Lu Cewu (卢策吾), deputy dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Noematrix develops embodied AI foundation models and software-hardware systems.
Its flagship product, the Noematrix Brain, is supported by a full-stack platform spanning data collection, model training, deployment and validation.
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University AI Future Fund was established by the university’s School of Artificial Intelligence to support AI startups emerging from the university ecosystem.
Wang Yanfeng, executive dean of the school, said Noematrix’s approach to embodied AI aligns closely with the institution’s goal of nurturing leading technology companies.
“Its embedded upgrade solution has already been deployed at scale in pharmacies, demonstrating its adaptability in real-world environments,” Wang said.
The investment also deepens ties between the university and the company, extending a relationship that previously centered on joint research laboratories into capital collaboration.
Access to training data
The participation of Wuxi Data Group highlights another major challenge facing the embodied AI sector: access to high-quality training data.
The two sides have already launched a city-level initiative aimed at building large-scale embodied AI datasets across industrial settings.
Future cooperation will focus on industrial dataset construction and deployments on live production lines.
Pharmacies as first use case
On the commercial front, Noematrix’s robots have already been rolled out in pharmacies.
Its so-called embedded upgrade solution requires no modifications to existing shelving systems, can be deployed in as little as 2.5 square meters of space, and connects directly with existing store order-management systems.
The company plans to launch a new generation of its self-developed embodied AI world model in the near future and expand into applications including hotel laundry services and household organization.
