China has invested more than the United States in robotics venture funding this year, drawing $13.2 billion against America’s $12.1 billion. These hefty investments continue even as Beijing’s
China has invested more than the United States in robotics venture funding this year, drawing $13.2 billion against America’s $12.1 billion.
These hefty investments continue even as Beijing’s planners warn of an investment bubble and Washington drafts rules to keep Chinese robots out.
Global venture funding reportedly reached $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026, more than twice the $4.3 billion recorded a year earlier. Across the first three quarters of 2026, the sector is up roughly 185% year over year.
China has invested $13.2 billion so far this year, with the U.S. close behind at $12.1 billion. Germany, on the other hand, is far behind with only $1.7 billion invested.
Chinese startups like Guangzhou’s Xpeng Robotics and Shenzhen’s AI² Robotics raised $900 million and $736 million Series C, respectively. In the U.S., Travis Kalanick’s Atoms and Pittsburgh’s Skild AI, which collected $1.4 billion for its Skild Brain model, drew billion-dollar checks.
Of the roughly 75 robotics companies on Crunchbase’s unicorn board that raised in the past three years, 45 joined just this year. Ulrik Stig Hansen, the co-CEO of data-layer firm Encord, said that physical AI is just starting to take off.
Despite China’s lead, its own government has urged caution. In late November 2025, Li Chao, a spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Commission, told reporters in Beijing that China now has more than 150 humanoid robot makers. She warned that too many nearly identical products could crowd out spending on research.
Investment in China’s physical AI companies dropped by 40.1% in one month, from 19.4 billion yuan in August to 11.6 billion yuan in September. Total investment for the third quarter was 33.3 billion yuan, which is 28.7% lower than it was in the first half of the year. Some state-linked investors have stopped looking at new physical AI deals altogether.
The slowdown is due to an informal warning, known as “window guidance,” that China’s securities regulator issued in September. Humanoid robot startups that want to go public now have to show steady revenue, shrinking losses, or real innovation.
The warnings intensified when shares of Unitree Robotics, China’s best-known humanoid maker, took a nosedive and fell by half from their peak after listing in Shanghai.
Still AgiBot, which is ranked alongside Unitree as a sector heavyweight, is raising 1 billion to 1.5 billion yuan at a valuation near 50 billion yuan.
As Chinese firms raise and build, Washington is trying to shut the door.
On June 3, three House members, John Moolenaar, Jay Obernolte, and Jennifer McClellan, introduced the GUARD Act. It would let national security agencies check humanoid and four-legged robots made by rival countries and ban imports that are seen as a threat.
On July 28, the FCC added foreign-made advanced robots to its Covered List. These robots can’t get FCC approval unless the Department of War gives conditional permission.
Separately, the House passed a defense bill whose Section 163 would stop the Pentagon from buying or operating Chinese, Russian, or Iranian humanoid systems.
Crypolitan reported that Chinese manufacturers already dominate global shipments, taking 86% of more than 22,000 humanoid units shipped in the first half of 2026.
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