Astribot raises ~$149M as cable-driven humanoids hit a $2.1B valuation

In short: Astribot (星尘智能) raised about RMB 1 billion (~$149M) led by Shenzhen Investment Holdings' Toukong Donghai, taking its post-money valuation to roughly RMB 15 billion (~$2.1B). It is the company's fourth financing in six months.

The round

• Lead: Toukong Donghai (深投控 / Shenzhen Investment Holdings).
• Follow-ons: Hongtai Fund, Ninghai Xingtaihe (Guanghua Sunshine), Shanheng Capital, and returning investor Xianmu.
• Use of proceeds: model iteration, hiring, commercialization and manufacturing capacity.

Why cable-driven matters

Astribot sells the S1 and lower-cost T1 (from about RMB 89,900 / ~$12,600). It claims to be first to mass-produce cable-driven AI robots — tendons that transmit force like human muscles — and says it has thousand-unit orders plus tens-of-thousands manufacturing capacity. The T1 was shown in North America at IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh.

Why it matters

State-linked capital leading the round is a signal that Chinese local governments are treating manufacturable embodied AI as industrial infrastructure. Delivery quality on those thousand-unit orders — not demo videos — will decide whether a $2.1B valuation sticks.