Author: Pencil News | A Xin

A burgeoning unicorn has emerged in Beijing. Recently, the domestic embodied intelligence enterprise Star Sea Map (Galaxea AI) successfully raised nearly RMB 300 million in Series A funding. This round was exclusively led by Ant Group, with continued participation from existing shareholders such as Hillhouse Capital, IDG Capital, Beijing Robotics Industry Fund, Baidu Ventures, and Tongge Ventures.

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Established in September 2023, Star Sea Map specializes in developing 'one brain, multiple forms' embodied intelligence robots. Its core business revolves around the creation of Embodied Foundation Models (EFM) and Spatial Intelligence Engines (Real2Sim2Real, RSR).

Its product lineup includes the full-size wheeled humanoid robot R1 series, boasting 26 degrees of freedom, a maximum load capacity of 10kg, and a starting price of RMB 199,000. Star Sea Map's products are primarily targeted at smart manufacturing, warehousing logistics, cross-border e-commerce, and household scenarios, aiming to transcend the limitations of traditional robots by leveraging embodied intelligence technology. The core team comprises members from top universities and renowned enterprises, such as founder Gao Jiyang, who holds degrees from Tsinghua University and the University of Southern California and previously worked at Google's self-driving car company Waymo and autonomous driving company Momenta; co-founders Zhao Xing and Xu Huazhe are assistant professors at Tsinghua University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences; and Li Tianwei, who holds a master's degree from UCL and was a colleague of Gao Jiyang at Momenta. Key milestones in the company's development include: September 2023 - Founding of Star Sea Map; January 2024 - Completion of a tens of millions of USD angel round led by IDG Capital and Baidu Ventures; July 2024 - Investment from the Beijing Robotics Industry Fund; November 2024 - Over RMB 200 million in Pre-A funding led by Hillhouse Capital and Ant Group; February 2025 - RMB 300 million in Series A funding. Currently, the R1 series has been released and showcased at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, demonstrating capabilities such as moving boxes, picking up parts, opening and closing doors, pressing buttons, etc. Within two months of its launch, R1 has served over 30 clients, primarily comprising large technology enterprises, startups, universities, research institutions, and national laboratories.

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Embodied intelligence represents an emerging trajectory in the AI field, widely regarded as the core development direction for next-generation AI. Its evolution has progressed from laboratory research to initial commercialization, currently experiencing a period of rapid growth. Industry challenges include high technical complexity, broad interdisciplinary scope, and difficulties in hardware-software coordination.

Prior to 2023, embodied intelligence was primarily confined to university and research institution laboratories, exploring fundamental technologies such as robot hardware design, motion control, perception, and recognition. The period from 2023 to 2024 marked a phase of rapid exploration. Starting in 2023, several companies began integrating embodied intelligence technology into products and attempting to bring them to market. In 2024, domestic and foreign manufacturers released robot prototypes, initially exploring market applications. For instance, in logistics and warehousing scenarios, embodied intelligence robots began small-scale applications like cargo handling and sorting; in household services, robots with basic interaction and task execution capabilities emerged, though the overall market size remained small with relatively limited application scenarios. Beyond 2025, with increasing policy support and a substantial influx of capital, embodied intelligence is expected to enter mass production in 2025, achieving large-scale applications across various fields including smart manufacturing, logistics and delivery, household services, education, and healthcare.

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Currently, the domestic embodied intelligence sector boasts a substantial overall market size for intelligent robots, potentially reaching hundreds of billions of yuan when combining general-purpose and industrial robots. According to research reports from BOCI Securities and others, it is estimated that by 2026, the market size of humanoid robots in China will exceed RMB 20 billion, and by 2035, this figure could grow to RMB 300 billion. A report by the QYResearch research team predicts that the global market size for embodied intelligence robot simulation platforms will reach USD 800 million by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 47.7% in the coming years.

In terms of competition, this sector is in the nascent stages of rapid development: emerging companies are present, but a dominant market leader has yet to fully emerge. Some companies have begun to demonstrate advantages. For instance, Fourier Intelligence's GR-1, a general-purpose bipedal robot, has achieved mass production and made global breakthroughs in technological advancement and commercialization progress. Shanghai Kepler Exploration Robotics has launched the humanoid robot K1, featuring millimeter-level motion control capabilities and strong load capacity. Additionally, Zhiyuan Robotics, Zhipingfang, Star Sea Map, Xingdongyuanji, Xingchen Intelligence, and others are also leading enterprises in the industry. Compared to competitors, one of Star Sea Map's key differentiators lies in its 'one brain, multiple forms' technical concept and full-stack self-research capabilities, which better enable autonomous decision-making and multi-scenario applications for intelligent agents. Looking ahead, embodied intelligence is poised to drive robots from performing single tasks to adapting to complex environments and making autonomous decisions. Within 1-3 years, it is anticipated to achieve widespread adoption in manufacturing, services, and household life.

The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.