Ant Group and Zhiyuan Establish Joint Venture for Robotics

Recently, Hangzhou Chuan Zhi Wei Lai Technology Co., Ltd. was established, with its main business covering six key areas: industry robot products and solutions, data collection training platform services, DaaS (Data as a Service) operations, robot leasing, humanoid robot technology empowerment, and artificial intelligence software development.

According to the equity penetration information, Chuan Zhi Future is jointly held by Chuanhua Zhili, Zhiyuan Robotics' affiliated company Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd., Ant Technology Group's wholly-owned subsidiary Shanghai Yunyang Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center Co., Ltd.

Image source: Tianyancha

As a national intelligent logistics service platform, Transfar Zhilian possesses the largest highway port infrastructure network in the country. Focusing on the industrial sector, it leverages its nationwide infrastructure network resources and scenario advantages to provide efficient platform-based logistics services for manufacturers and trade distributors.

Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center Co., Ltd. was established at the end of 2023, under the guidance and support of the government unit in Haishu District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. It was co-founded by Professor Xiong Rong from Zhejiang University and his team, along with several well-known industry partners. The center focuses on key technology research and development of humanoid robot "big and small brain" systems, as well as the integrated system development and application. It aims to create a technology company that integrates research and development of humanoid robot technology, achievement transformation, talent cultivation, industrial development, and industry radiation.

With the addition of the core hardware, Zhiyuan Robotics, and Ant Group, which possesses a strong digital infrastructure, the establishment of Zhanzhi Future signifies the deep integration of robot manufacturing, internet platform services, logistics application scenarios, and provincial-level innovation platforms.

It is understood that Zhiyuan Robotics has authorized Chuan Zhi Wei Lai to use its wheeled robot body A2W and related technologies non-exclusively for no less than five years, and in the fields of chemical manufacturing, park logistics, and agriculture, Chuan Zhi Wei Lai enjoys exclusive rights to develop scenarios using A2W technology.

Image Source: Zhiyuan Robot

As a leading player in the field of embodied intelligent robots in China, Zhiyuan Robotics has launched multiple products from three major families: "Expedition," "Lingxi," and "Spirit," including models such as Expedition A2, Lingxi X2, Spirit G2, Spirit G1, and quadruped robot D1. According to a relevant person in charge at Zhiyuan, this year, the Expedition series has shipped around 1,000 units, with an expected scale of several thousand units next year.

In the past two years, Ant Group has been actively developing embodied intelligent robots and established a subsidiary, Ant Lingbo Technology, focused on embodied intelligent robotics by the end of 2024. Currently, Lingbo Technology has launched its first humanoid robot, Robbyant-R1. This robot is based on a self-developed foundational model for embodied intelligence and smart hardware, capable of performing tasks such as cooking, tour guiding, and pharmacy medication sorting. It has already been piloted in certain scenarios.

Additionally, this year Ant Group has successively invested in companies such as XH Sea, Stardust Intelligence, Titanium Tiger Robotics, and Lingxin Qiaoshou.