- Fresh capital is flowing into embodied AI, semiconductor equipment and next-generation radar technologies as startups race toward commercialization
- The latest deals highlight investor appetite for companies with proven products, growing customer traction and clear industrial applications
Motion Brain secures follow-on pre-Series A funding for embodied AI
Shanghai-based embodied AI startup Motion Brain (眸深智能) has raised nearly 100 million yuan ($14.77 million) in follow-on pre-Series A funding from Jinyue Capital, Chuanghehui Capital and existing investor Xuhui Capital.
The financing comes just two months after the company raised 300 million yuan in a pre-Series A round, while a nearly 500 million yuan pre-Series A+ round is also in the closing process, according to the startup.
Founded in January 2025 by Fudan University deep learning professor Chen Tao (陈涛), former Intel China chief scientist Zhang Yimin (张益民) and serial entrepreneur Mu Zelin (穆泽林), Motion Brain develops self-evolving embodied AI models.
Its core technologies include the MotionGPT action generation model and World Motion Model (WMM), developed by one of China’s few embodied AI teams with operator-level optimization capabilities.
Commercially, the company has already delivered robotic products to a Hong Kong-listed property management company and a mainland-listed sanitation services leader, with revenue expected to exceed 50 million yuan this year.
Airoptek lands seed funding for semiconductor inspection tools
Wuxi-based semiconductor inspection equipment startup Airoptek (清智光微科技) has raised a seed round worth tens of millions of yuan from undisclosed investors.
The proceeds will fund next-generation high-speed nanometer-scale wafer inspection systems and market expansion.
Incubated by Tsinghua University’s Wuxi Institute of Applied Technology under an innovation center led by academician Zhang Yaqin, the company specializes in precision semiconductor metrology.
Its team has nearly a decade of experience spanning optics, mechanics, electronics, algorithms and software.
Airoptek has developed its own optical imaging system, GPU-accelerated vision algorithms with detection accuracy above 99%, and distributed software capable of processing images at more than 2 GB per second.
The company said its mass-production inspection equipment outperforms leading domestic and overseas rivals and targets import substitution for advanced packaging and third-generation semiconductor applications.
ARCO Microelectronics raises strategic funding for 4D radar chips
Nanjing-based ARCO Microelectronics (圭步微电子) has secured more than 100 million yuan in strategic financing from Omnivision, Bosch Ventures, Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Sci-Tech Investment Group, Jade Stone Venture and JX Capital Management.
Founded in 2021, the company develops 4D imaging millimeter-wave radar chips integrating RF transceivers, baseband algorithms and antennas into a single SoC.
In October 2025, it launched a mass-produced 4D satellite-architecture radar jointly with autonomous driving startup Chuhang Technology, marking its transition from R&D to volume production.
Since its founding, ARCO has attracted backing from leading industry and venture investors including Great Wall Motor, Bosch Ventures, H Capital, Zhen Fund and Shunwei Capital.
The new funding will support core technology upgrades, mass production and broader commercial deployment.
