Zhiyuan Releases Lingxi X2-N Robot; Tesla Halts Optimus Production; Gangzai Robot Secures 300 Million RMB Order | Weekly Tech Roundup

1. Zhiyuan Releases Lingxi X2-N Robot

On July 5, Zhiyuan released the Lingxi X2-N wheel-legged robot. The design of the Lingxi X2-N is inspired by Nezha from Chinese mythology. A key feature is its ability to freely switch between bipedal and wheeled forms; the transition from feet to wheels takes very little time, almost less than 1 second.

From the video released by Zhiyuan, it can be seen that Lingxi X2-N has two forms: bipedal and wheeled. It can carry items and navigate stairs blindly relying on its own perception, complete leg-wheel conversion based on terrain features, and walk steadily while holding a heavy object of nearly 12 jin.

When switched to the wheeled form, it moves efficiently with a gliding motion. It can easily handle complex terrains such as single-sided bridges and slopes. After crossing bridges and climbing slopes, it lands steadily and can turn flexibly on inclines.

Meanwhile, the Lingxi X2-N exhibits excellent robust anti-impact performance (robustness refers to the ability of a system, algorithm, or model to maintain stable performance and correct output when facing uncertainties, interference, noise, or parameter fluctuations). Whether pushed by hand or kicked by foot, it maintains strong stability. Additionally, the Lingxi X2-N possesses the ability to glide while moving and move efficiently; it supports not only forward and backward movement but also allows free lower-body movement while keeping the upper body posture unchanged.

2. Vita Dynamics VITA Intelligent Companion Robot "Mengmeng" Undergoes First Public Test

Vita Power released the first public test video of its VITA intelligent companion robot (first prototype version) on July 3.

The video shows that Vita Power's first quadruped robot dog, named "Mengmeng," can understand navigable areas in three-dimensional space and interpret the behavioral intentions of surrounding people and animals in complex and irregular living scenarios, making corresponding movement decisions. It can follow its owner like a real pet and carry small items for them on its back.

According to reports, "Mengmeng" also has stable video recording capabilities while running. The two major testing focuses—"no remote control" and "autonomous walking"—were successfully completed in terrains such as homestays, streets, grasslands, and sandy areas.

Based on information from the video, Vita Power will showcase a near-production-ready robot at the World Robot Conference in August, with mass-produced robot products expected to be launched by the end of the year.

3. Tesla halts production of humanoid robot Optimus, potentially adjusting design

On July 2, according to WanDian Auto, supply chain information from China indicates that Tesla is concentrating on adjusting the hardware and software technical details of its humanoid robot Optimus and began suspending the procurement of Optimus components half a month ago.

The report states that after Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's AI Software Vice President, took over the Optimus project, he hopes to improve the complete design before pushing forward with the mass production plan.

And according to Tesla's feedback to suppliers, Optimus still faces hardware challenges, including overheating of some joint motors, low load capacity of the dexterous hand, short lifespan of transmission devices, and limited battery life. Tesla is currently evaluating samples from multiple dexterous hand suppliers, testing at least three different technical approaches. On the software side, Tesla may use more synthetic data to train robot models, thereby improving Optimus's autonomous operation capabilities and success rate in executing complex tasks.

According to the report, citing two supplier insiders, due to design adjustments, new mass production plans and resumption of procurement will only be confirmed after the completion of Optimus's design adjustments, a process that is expected to take about two months.

Recently, Musk revealed on social media that the new version of Optimus has achieved "significant improvements" compared to the second generation and integrates voice interaction features powered by Grok. According to reports citing supply chain sources, the third-generation Optimus may be unveiled at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting this year.

4. Chinese Embodied AI Company Genesis AI Completes $700 Million Seed Funding Round

On July 1, US-based embodied AI startup Genesis AI announced the completion of a $105 million (approximately RMB 752 million) seed funding round, co-led by top US venture capital firms Khosla Ventures and Eclipse, with participation from Google former chairman Eric Schmidt, European tech magnate Xavier Niel, French central bank BPI, Sequoia China, and others.

Genesis AI was founded in December 2024, with a development team of approximately 20 people. The founding team consists of senior academic and industry talents from Mistral AI, NVIDIA, Google, Apple, CMU, MIT, Stanford University, Columbia University, and the University of Maryland.

Genesis AI Founder and CEO Zhou Xian (far left) graduated with a bachelor's degree from Nanyang Technological University and earned his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. During his doctoral studies, his research covered world models, imitation learning, and reinforcement learning; he proposed a new paradigm for generative simulation and initiated and led the Genesis open-source project.

5. Gangzai Robotics Secures RMB 300 Million Order

On July 2, Gangzai Robotics Group Holdings Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Gangzai Robotics") announced that its non-wholly owned subsidiary, Hong Kong仔 Robot Company Limited (the Seller), signed a procurement cooperation agreement with Tonghong Security Services Limited (the Buyer). Tonghong Security is a member of the Hong Kong Security Industry Association, providing security services to both the public and private sectors in Hong Kong.

According to the agreement, Hong Kong仔 Robot and Tonghong Security committed to procuring no less than 1,000 Embodied AI security robots in Hong Kong within two years from the date of the agreement. With a unit price of RMB 300,000 per robot, the total contract value amounts to RMB 300 million. The initial batch is expected to consist of 50-100 Embodied AI security robots, with subsequent deliveries made in batches of 100 units.

Gangzai Robotics was formerly known as Guohua Group Holdings Limited (abbreviated as "Guohua Group"), which had deep roots in real estate-related services. In March this year, Guohua Group began its transformation, with its wholly owned subsidiary, AI Group, signing a cooperation agreement with humanoid robot unicorn Unitree Robotics to establish a joint venture—Hong Kong仔 Robot—in Hong Kong through restructuring, entering the robotics sector. In May, Guohua Group officially changed its name to Gangzai Robotics Group Holdings Limited.

6. Hubei Establishes RMB 10 Billion Humanoid Robot Industry Investment Parent Fund

On July 2, according to information from the Hubei Provincial Guidance Fund, the Hubei Provincial Humanoid Robot Industry Investment Parent Fund completed the signing of its partnership agreement, business registration, and initial paid-in capital contribution. It has become the first fund successfully established with participation from government guidance funds following the issuance of the "Hubei Province Work Plan for Reconstructing the Government Guidance Fund System."

The fund has a total scale of 10 billion yuan and plans to be established in two phases, with the first phase totaling 5 billion yuan. Of this amount: the provincial government investment guidance fund and the Wuhan Industrial Fund each subscribe for 20%, while Changjiang Securities and Hubei Provincial Science & Technology Investment Group each subscribe for 30%. The fund will focus on core areas related to humanoid robots and artificial intelligence industries, including key chain-leading enterprises in humanoid robots that are prioritized for development in our province, as well as strategic and pioneering technology enterprises possessing core technological capabilities in components, brain-computer interfaces, control systems, model algorithms, etc.

The humanoid robot industry investment parent fund is a key move by Hubei Province to make forward-looking layouts in strategic emerging industries and future industries, and to cultivate new productive forces. It also serves as an important policy tool to seize the commanding heights of future industries through advance capital layout, thereby assisting Hubei in building itself into a national source of humanoid robot technology innovation, an incubator for innovation, and a pioneer area for application.