Gasgoo Munich- Gasgoo has learned that TARS has officially closed a $455 million (roughly 3.1 billion yuan) Pre-A funding round. The move sets a record for the largest single-round financing in China's embodied intelligence sector, as well as the biggest Pre-A round to date.TARS plans to use the proceeds to develop proprietary large models for embodied intelligence and recruit top talent globally. The goal is to build a trusted physical AI and pioneer "new quality productive forces" in industrial manufacturing automation.The round attracted a diverse group of prominent financial investors, strategic backers, and state-owned capital. Key participants include:On the financial front, Hillhouse Ventures and Sequoia China co-led the round, with participation from Meituan Longzhu, CICC Capital, Camels Capital, Eastern Fortune Capital, and Junshan Investment.Strategically, Meituan doubled down as a cornerstone shareholder and continued to co-lead. Existing backers—including Qiming Venture Partners, Linear Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Xianghe Capital, and Hongtai Fund—also increased their strategic stakes.From an industry perspective, TCL Industrial Investment, Futeng Capital, Shoucheng Holdings (0697.HK), C&D Emerging Investment, Hengxu Capital, and National Automotive Investment also joined the round.In terms of state capital, the Beijing Robot Industry Development Investment Fund and Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Guide made their first joint investment in an embodied intelligence company.Image Credit: TARSFounded in February 2025, TARS boasts a leadership team with deep industry roots. Founder and CEO Chen Yilun previously served as CTO of Autonomous Driving and Chief Scientist of the Automotive BU at Huawei. Chairman Li Zhenyu, the former president of Baidu's Intelligent Driving Group (IDG), spearheaded the Apollo autonomous driving open platform and the Apollo Go robotaxi service. Co-founder and Chief Scientist Ding Wenchao, one of Huawei's first "Genius Youth" recruits, led the company's intelligent driving decision-making network and developed Fudan University's first humanoid robot.On the hardware front, TARS has launched the A-series wheeled industrial robots and the T-series bipedal general-purpose robots, featuring self-developed high-degree-of-freedom dexterous hands. The company has achieved rapid technological breakthroughs in human-centric data collection, the world's first "work-capable" general embodied large model, and flexible wire harness precision assembly. Notable milestones include the release of the AWE 3.0 model, the SenseHub data acquisition suite, and the open-sourcing of the "WIYH Dataset"—the first embodied VLTA multimodal dataset.The TARS A1 robot recently made its overseas debut at LogiMAT, a trade fair for logistics solutions and process management. During the event, it secured clear purchase intentions from clients across various industries and European countries—a strong signal that the general operational capabilities of Chinese robots are gaining high recognition in the European market.About Seeds Discovery:Gasgoo's "Seeds Discovery" column is designed to serve as a platform connecting startups, ecosystem partners, investors, and local governments, empowering the entire automotive supply chain. Since its launch, the column has been dedicated to identifying standout companies, technologies, and business models that drive the intelligent transformation of the industry. According to Gasgoo statistics, nearly every startup featured in "Seeds Discovery" has successfully secured resources within the industrial ecosystem.
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