Alibaba Launches Robotics and Embodied AI
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Alibaba Group has set up a dedicated Robotics and Embodied AI team, signaling its entry into the fast-growing race among global tech giants to bring artificial intelligence into the physical world.
October 8 – Alibaba Group has formed an internal robotics team, signaling its formal entry into the global race among tech giants to build AI-powered physical products.
On Wednesday, Lin Junyang, head of technology at Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen large model unit, announced on social media platform X that the company has established a “Robotics and Embodied AI Group.” The move highlights Alibaba’s strategic push from software-based AI into hardware and real-world applications. The announcement comes as global peers ramp up investments in robotics. On the same day, Japan’s SoftBank said it would acquire ABB’s industrial robotics business, deepening its footprint in what it calls “physical AI.”
Alibaba Cloud has also made its first foray into embodied intelligence, leading a $140 million funding round last month in Shenzhen-based startup X Square Robot.
At the 2025 Yunqi Cloud Summit two weeks ago, Alibaba CEO Wu Yongming projected global AI investment would surge to $4 trillion within five years, stressing that Alibaba must keep pace. In addition to the ¥380 billion earmarked in February for cloud and AI infrastructure, the company plans further spending.
From Multimodal Models to Real-World Agents Lin also noted on X that “multimodal foundation models are now being transformed into fundamental agents capable of long-horizon reasoning through reinforcement learning, using tools and memory.” He added that such applications “should naturally move from the virtual world into the physical one.”
As head of Tongyi Qianwen, Lin previously worked on multimodal models that process voice, images, and text. The new robotics group underscores Alibaba’s intent to extend its AI expertise into embodied products, aiming for a foothold in the fast-growing embodied AI market.
Backing X Square Robot
In September, Alibaba Cloud led a $140 million Series A+ round for X Square Robot, marking its first major investment in embodied intelligence. The Shenzhen startup, less than two years old, has raised about $280 million across eight funding rounds.
X Square pursues a software-first strategy. Last month it released Wall-OSS, an open-source embodied intelligence foundation model, alongside its Quanta X2 robot. The machine can attach a mop head for 360-degree cleaning and features a robotic hand sensitive enough to detect subtle pressure changes—moving closer to human-like functionality.
The company has not yet launched a consumer product, and pricing will vary by application. Research firm Humanoid Guide estimates its humanoid robot at around $80,000. X Square is already generating revenue from sales to schools, hotels, and elder-care facilities, and is preparing for an IPO next year. COO Yang Qian said the company expects “robot butlers” to become a reality within five years, though admitted that AI for robotics still lags behind advances in chatbots and code generation.
A Global Robotics Race
Alibaba’s entry comes as major tech firms double down on robotics. Venture capital has been pouring into the humanoid robot sector, with widespread belief that combining generative AI with robotics will transform human–machine interaction.
At NVIDIA’s annual shareholder meeting in June, CEO Jensen Huang said AI and robotics represent two trillion-dollar growth opportunities for the company, predicting self-driving cars will be the first major commercial application. He envisioned billions of robots, hundreds of millions of autonomous vehicles, and tens of thousands of robotic factories powered by NVIDIA’s technology.
Meanwhile, SoftBank this week announced a $5.4 billion cash acquisition of ABB’s robotics unit, which generated $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024 and employs about 7,000 people worldwide. Chairman Masayoshi Son described the deal as a step toward fusing “artificial superintelligence with robotics” to shape SoftBank’s “next frontier.”
Citigroup estimates the global robotics market could reach $7 trillion by 2050, attracting vast capital inflows—including from state-backed funds—into one of technology’s most hotly contested arenas.
