- Ant Group led the funding round as the embodied AI startup unveiled a new consumer brand and expanded its household robotics lineup
- The 18-month-old company says it has more than 30,000 orders in hand and has doubled down on the race to bring humanoid robots into homes
Chinese embodied AI startup JoyIn (乐享科技) has raised nearly 500 million yuan ($73.69 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Ant Group, as the 18-month-old company unveiled a new consumer robotics brand and a broader lineup of household robots to accelerate its push into the mass market.
The round also drew participation from Geely Capital, 37 Interactive Entertainment, and Hua Capital, while existing investor Monolith increased its stake.
The latest financing brings JoyIn’s total fundraising to about 1 billion yuan, the company said.
The Suzhou-based startup said it has accumulated more than 30,000 orders and reported 600% year-on-year revenue growth in the first half of 2026, underscoring growing demand for consumer-focused embodied AI products.
Household robots
Alongside the financing, JoyIn launched its new household robotics brand, Zeroth, together with two flagship products: Jupiter, a full-size humanoid robot, and N1, a collaborative home robot equipped with what the company describes as the industry’s first heterogeneous robotic arm architecture.
The additions complement its existing portfolio, which includes the compact humanoid M1 and tracked robot W1, giving the company offerings across the major form factors for home embodied intelligence.
JoyIn said its M1 and W1 robots have already secured orders across preschool education, smart home and pet companionship applications. The company also described M1 as the world’s first humanoid robot integrated with OpenClaw.
Track record in commercialization
Founder and Chief Executive Guo Renjie entered Xi’an Jiaotong University through its gifted youth program at age 15 before serving as China president of Chinese home appliance maker Dreame Technology at 26, where he built a reputation for commercializing consumer products.
He founded JoyIn in late 2024 and has assembled a team drawn from institutions including Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Carnegie Mellon University, combining robotics researchers with experienced industry executives.
From industry to consumer market
The financing comes as China’s embodied AI sector shifts beyond industrial deployments toward consumer applications, with startups racing to commercialize home robots capable of assisting with daily tasks, companionship and education.
JoyIn’s latest fundraising and product launch position it among a growing group of companies betting that the next wave of robotics growth will come from households rather than factories.
