China's embodied intelligence and robotics sectors are experiencing rapid growth as Chinese tech firms have won greater capital support and raised more funds in 2025 than a year earlier.

In the first five months of 2025, startups specializing in embodied intelligence secured more than 23 billion yuan (3.2 billion U.S. dollars), already exceeding the total investment recorded for the full year of 2024.

Embodied AI integrates artificial intelligence (AI) into physical bodies, such as robots, enabling them to perceive, learn, and dynamically interact with their environment as humans do. Relying on computation and logical reasoning, embodied AI can continuously learn, adapt, and complete tasks through perception, action, and environmental feedback, thus improving autonomy and practical application in real world.

For humanoid robots nowadays, although people want them to do tasks independently like humans, many still require an operator or pre-programmed instructions to function properly. Fully autonomous intelligence remains elusive.

Wang Xiaogang, chairman of ACE Robotics, emphasized the importance of intelligence in robot development in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).

"Of course the hardware and the control are important to make the robots stable. But meanwhile, it's very important to have special intelligence. They can solve all kinds of problems independently. I think this is really the gap we have in robotics, and this is also what we're focused on," said Wang.

ACE Robotics doesn't build robot bodies, but builds their brains. The company's software enables robots, quadrupedal robotic dogs, and robotic arms to understand their surroundings and carry out tasks with real autonomy.

Although fully autonomous robots still face challenges, China's combination of hardware capabilities and AI innovation could help bring that future closer, according to Wang.

"We have a very good supply chain on the hardware side. And now I also think we have a lot of AI talents. In China, we have a good chance [of success]," he said.

From research labs to venture capital money, the race for embodied intelligence is well underway. Zhang Wenlang, managing director and chief macro analyst at CICC Research, believes this race will become a driving force of China's economy.

"With the emergence of DeepSeek in early 2025, market confidence in China's technological progress has been further reinforced. So, in fact, the stock market's tech sector has seen a notable rebound since the start of the year. Looking forward, we believe the new wave of technological revolution led by AI and robotics will keep driving up China's total factor productivity, and boosting its potential economic growth," said Zhang.