XPENG, the Chinese electric vehicle maker, just raised over $900 million for its robotics business at a $6.3 billion valuation—the largest single private funding round in China's physical AI industry. The money is going toward IRON, a humanoid robot the company plans to start mass-producing by December 2026.
The robot and the bet
IRON has 76 degrees of freedom across its body and 21 in each hand, runs on three in-house Turing AI chips delivering 2,250 TOPS of compute, and is designed to work across stores, factories, and eventually homes. XPENG is betting it can apply the same quality standards and supply chains it uses for electric cars to humanoid robots, targeting monthly production of over 1,000 units and 1 million by 2030.
IDG Capital led the round, with Tencent, Alibaba, and Gaorong Ventures participating. XPENG retains controlling ownership. Commercial sales and deliveries in China and overseas markets are scheduled to begin in 2027.
The context: XPENG's core car business is struggling—revenue dropped 17.6 percent in Q1 with widening losses. The company is repositioning itself as a physical AI business spanning humanoids, robotaxis, and flying vehicles, not a carmaker with side projects.