Opening Today: A Complete Guide to Yunqi Capital's Embodied Intelligence Portfolio | Yunqi Capital x World Robot Conference
A User-Friendly Guide to Robot "Face Blindness"
At the recently concluded WAIC 2025, embodied intelligence was the undisputed center of attention. Over a hundred humanoid robots competed on the same stage — from boxing and drumming to mixing coffee, from retail sorting to assembly line operations, a future vision of "all-capable workers hitting the floor" came vividly to life.
Today, more than 200 domestic and international robotics companies are gathering at the annual World Robot Conference (WRC), delivering an even more immersive and intensive showcase of hard tech. As a long-term investor in embodied intelligence, Yunqi Capital will also bring several of its portfolio companies to the event.
On the eve of the conference opening, we're offering a heartfelt "Yunqi Embodied Intelligence Family Viewing Guide" to help you cut through the dazzling array of exhibits and identify what's truly worth watching.
Yunqi has been systematically building its robotics portfolio since 2016, investing in sector leaders like Keenon Robotics and RealMan before the generative AI wave arrived. On the eve of the "embodied intelligence" concept going viral in 2023, it made an early move by leading the angel round for Astribot, and subsequently invested in a series of embodied innovation companies including X Variable, Noematrix, Squared Robotics, and Hillbot — supporting deep exploration of embodied intelligence technology and commercialization.
At this year's WRC, whether in the exhibition halls packed with displays or the forums buzzing with debate, you'll see Yunqi portfolio companies in action. Here's a practical "Yunqi Viewing Guide" to get you started.
A key goal of embodied intelligence is giving robots "human-like" capabilities: seeing, thinking, and acting. This requires completing the full closed loop from perception → decision-making → execution, which in turn depends on the coordinated interplay of "big brain + small brain + body + data."
Following this logic, the current embodied intelligence industry is a garden in full bloom. Innovators are tackling technical challenges across algorithms, hardware, and data, aiming for synergistic evolution of multiple capabilities. At the same time, they're exploring commercial possibilities for embodied intelligence by engaging with different real-world scenarios.
The Yunqi portfolio companies appearing at WRC are each exploring their own paths toward "smart robots" from their respective strengths, offering solutions spanning core dimensions including algorithms, data, and physical platforms. Beyond the convention floor, here's what makes each of them stand out.
Exhibiting Portfolio Companies
X Variable
Unified-Architecture Multimodal "Brain"
New Embodied Humanoid Robot Debut
Booth B106, Hall B
The "brain" is one of the technical cores of embodied intelligence. Under the "end-to-end" approach that represents a major current technical direction, X Variable's self-developed VLA architecture unifies language, vision, state, and action into token sequences, processing them in parallel within the same space to enable emergent cross-modal causal reasoning and task generalization.
Over the past year, X Variable's VLA architecture has rapidly iterated new capabilities including multimodal synchronous generation, chain-of-thought output, and video imitation. At the recently concluded WAIC, two X Variable robots completed a long-horizon collaborative "sachet making" task, from recognition to delivery with virtually no human intervention — vividly demonstrating VLA in action.
Beyond the "brain," X Variable's "body" is also upgrading fast. On the eve of WRC, it officially launched its new self-developed robot, the wheeled humanoid Quanta X2, which will make its debut at the conference. The exhibition will also showcase new achievements including a 20-DOF dexterous hand. More about X Variable's integrated hardware-software system coordination will be revealed at the booth.
Click here for exhibition preview details
Squared Robotics
From Whole-Body Domain-General Model
To Industrial Scene Deployment
Booth A118, Hall A
At the algorithm level, Squared Robotics' self-developed GOVLA model with "heterogeneous input + asynchronous frequency" gives its robot product AlphaBot 2 "Aibao" "domain-general action" and "whole-body coordination" capabilities — able to autonomously understand and plan, while executing quickly and accurately.
Combined with high-precision "physical strength," "Aibao" demonstrates its skills not only in living and entertainment scenarios, but also in real factory environments with free movement and autonomous operation. It features 34+ degrees of freedom, 6 hours of continuous operation, maximum single-arm payload of 10 kg, and operating height up to 2.4 meters, covering complex task spaces from ground level to elevated positions.
In previous collaborations with leading automakers, Bloomage Biotechnology, and Jingneng Microelectronics, "Aibao" completed tasks including loading/unloading, logistics transfer, sterile unpacking, and visual inspection, demonstrating practical cross-process, multi-task capabilities. At this year's WRC, it will continue to show its stuff. Click here for exhibition preview details The company's founder and CEO Yanping Guo will also appear at the conference main forum to share insights.
Astribot
Astribot S1: Dual Mastery of Hardware and Software,
Extremely Capable Manipulation Levels Up
Booth B115, Hall B
Remember the AI robot Astribot S1 that played the yangqin and performed calligraphy at last year's WRC? This year it returns to the conference, having since entered multiple real-world scenarios including the National Centre for the Performing Arts, nursing homes, and JD Mall — transforming into a cultured and capable "general-purpose operator."
What sets it apart is not just the self-developed dual-system brain DuoCore at the algorithm level, but also a "body" built for manipulation — Astribot's self-developed tendon-driven platform design features "tendon-like" control akin to human muscles, enabling fluid motion and rapid response even in high-dynamic, complex environments.
This Design for AI advantage of hardware-software synergy gives it exceptional real-world adaptability. Whether bending to grasp objects in elderly care scenarios or making tea and delivering items in retail spaces, it completes multi-stage operations with both stability and generalization capability. It has left the industry with a deep impression of "remarkably smooth manipulation."
Astribot, dual-mastering hardware and software, also continues evolving its self-developed AI system DuoCore. On the eve of this WRC, it released its first whole-body mobile manipulation model DuoCore-WB and the Astribot Suite R&D toolkit, building a complete closed loop from platform to teleoperation to model training, accelerating the evolutionary deployment of embodied intelligence. More surprises await on site.
Click here for exhibition preview details
Keenon Robotics
Service Robots Embrace Embodied Intelligence
XMAN Leads Multi-Scene Workforce
Booth B118, Hall B
As an industry "leader" with cumulative shipments exceeding 100,000 units, Keenon Robotics is also actively embracing embodied intelligence. In the first half of this year, it released its first bipedal humanoid robot XMAN-F1.
This humanoid robot is built upon the massive real-world operational data that Keenon has accumulated over years of deep cultivation in service scenarios, covering food service, bartending, stair navigation, cleaning and delivery, and more.
At this year's WRC, XMAN-F1 will lead Keenon's embodied intelligence service experience center in continued "operation." Click here for exhibition preview details CEO Tong Li will also appear at a concurrent theme event to share insights.
RealMan
Hardware Chassis for "Smart Bodies"
Booth B200, Hall B
Reliable, mass-producible "bodies" are the prerequisite for embodied intelligence to move from algorithms into the real world and achieve scale and industrialization. RealMan is positioning itself as a critical supplier at this "foundation layer" of embodied components.
Centered on self-developed joint modules and ultra-lightweight robotic arm platforms, RealMan has built a complete hardware system spanning modules, complete machines, and open-source platforms, pushing their adaptation to different brains, scenarios, and ecosystems.
At this year's WRC, RealMan will bring its full product matrix, with key highlights including: integrated joint modules, ultra-lightweight humanoid arm applications, AI physiotherapy robots, logistics and warehousing applications, and the newly released embodied open-source platform RealBOT. Multiple typical scenario joint exhibitions with ecosystem partners will also take place on site — come check it out! Click here for exhibition preview details
On the morning of August 9, founder and CEO Suibing Zheng will also appear at the theme event we are co-hosting with SEE Fund.
Attending Portfolio Companies
Noematrix
From Large Models to Toolchains,
A "Workstation" Empowering Embodied Development
Click here for co-founder Cewu Lu's agenda
In the bustling expedition of embodied intelligence exploration, Noematrix is more like building a "development workstation" for robots — from a "force-centric" embodied intelligence large model to multiple toolchains.
The recently released Noematrix Brain 2.0 represents comprehensive upgrades across large model capabilities, decision compression, and practical feature optimization, accompanied by the atomic skill library AnySkill, foundational frameworks, and training tools to help robots master more fine-grained, complex skills. At the recently concluded WAIC, Noematrix's joint demonstration with Flexiv Robotics showed autonomous continuous operations including opening and closing a freezer, scooping ice cream, and placing and cleaning spoons — with appropriately calibrated force that left a strong impression.
This time, Noematrix co-founder Professor Cewu Lu will speak at the WRC main forum on "Embodied Intelligence Solving and Industrialization" — stay tuned.
Manycore Tech
Spatial Data Building
Training Grounds for Embodied Intelligence
Click here for founder and Chairman Xiaohuang Huang's agenda
The evolution of embodied intelligence cannot happen without data as "fuel." And it's not just about being "multimodal" (vision, language, action) — it also needs to be "cross-platform" (different robot platforms) and "cross-environment" (real vs. simulated). The difficulty of embodied training data is evident.
Drawing on years of accumulated spatial design practice, Manycore Tech has launched the SpatialVerse platform, letting robots practice tasks like moving, recognizing, and manipulating in virtual environments, and bridging virtual and real through the SpatialLM model to cross the sim2real gap.
At the August 9 theme event co-hosted by Yunqi and SEEFund, Manycore Tech co-founder and Chairman Xiaohuang Huang will deliver a keynote — stay tuned.
The future of embodied intelligence doesn't stop at "flexing" under exhibition hall lights. It lies in "getting things done" in everyday life, helping humanity solve more real problems. We look forward to these embodied intelligences — with their "brain + small brain + body + data" synergistic evolution — truly entering millions of households and thousands of industries, becoming reliable partners for humanity.
Keep this guide handy and come see the Yunqi embodied family in action at WRC over the coming days (August 8-12).
On August 9, 9:30-12:00, our concurrent theme event "Embodied Intelligence: The Future is Now" co-hosted with SEE Fund will bring together leading figures from embodied intelligence industry, academia, and research for a clash of perspectives. Welcome to join us on site (Conference Center, 2nd Floor Meeting Room C, Beijing Etrong International Exhibition & Convention Center) or watch via livestream.
