Robot Startup Sharpa Reveals First Funding Round: Over $4.5 Billion, Valued at $22 Billion

Perception Beating AI News Flash: General robotics company Sharpa has raised over $4.5 billion in cumulative funding, with a post-investment valuation of $22 billion. This is the first time the company has publicly disclosed its funding. Investors include Alibaba, Meituan, Tencent, JD.com, as well as Sequoia China, Qiming Venture Partners, and Meituan-Dianping. Sharpa was co-founded by Hesai Technology CEO Li Yifan, CTO Xiang Shaoqing, and Chief Scientist Sun Kai at the end of 2024, focusing on dexterous hands, general robotics, and related AI models.

Sharpa is currently focusing on real-world commercial scenarios rather than rushing into households. It has set three criteria for "truly capable work": no environment modification for robots, completion entirely by the robot itself, and tasks that are sufficiently complex and have practical value. The first scenario is in DQ stores. The robot must directly use the original equipment of the store employees, complete about 55 steps, and independently make a Blizzard ice cream. The comprehensive training for the initial scenario took less than 5 months, and the current speed is about half that of a human store employee.

Li Yifan believes that if a humanoid robot with over 70 degrees of freedom only performs tasks that a simple mechanical arm can accomplish, the commercial viability is simply not there. He also predicts that it is challenging for a "brain-only" company like OpenAI in the Physical AI space to emerge as a winner. The ultimate victor is more likely to resemble Apple, needing to master hardware, data, models, and the overall system. Sharpa hopes to first penetrate sectors such as catering, hotels, and retail before attempting to enter households starting in 2028.