Unitree and HongShan launch a program to back early-stage embodied-AI startups

Unitree and HongShan, the investor formerly known as Sequoia China, announced on Oct. 28 a joint program to find and invest in early-stage startups in embodied AI, robot applications, the key technologies upstream and downstream of them, and other frontier hardware, PEdaily reported. It is called 杉宇·创计划, the Shanyu Venture Program.

The division of labour is the interesting part. HongShan brings the capital, quick decisions and post-investment support. Unitree brings engineering and industry judgment, which the announcement says will help founders avoid building products that work in the lab but cannot be mass-produced or sold, according to IT之家. For Unitree, that is a first look at the startups most likely to build applications on its robots or supply their parts.

The two go back a long way. Founder Wang Xingxing said HongShan has been one of Unitree's earliest and most important backers since 2019. The program lists five principles, among them deciding fast and "not getting in the way", and it is aimed at young teams with an idea, some code or a prototype, The Paper reported.

Unitree could also write cheques of its own. Its cash rose to RMB 7.354 billion at the end of September from RMB 1.419 billion at the end of 2025, and Wallstreetcn says the RMB 5.958 billion of financing inflows were mainly IPO proceeds. The announcement names no fund size and no Unitree capital commitment, so for now the money in the program is HongShan's.