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| Beijing Galaxy General Robot | |
|---|---|
| Company information | |
| Chinese name | 银河通用机器人 (Yinhe Tongyong Jiqiren) |
| Trade name | Galbot |
| Founded | May 2023 |
| Founder(s) | Wang He (王鹤), Yao Tengzhou |
| Headquarters | Haidian District, Beijing, China |
| Industry | Robotics, Embodied AI |
| Products | Galbot G1, Galbot G1 Pro, Galbot S1 |
| Total funding | Over $800 million (as of early 2026) |
| Valuation | ~$3 billion (as of December 2025) |
| Website | galbot.com |
Beijing Galaxy General Robot Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 北京银河通用机器人有限公司), commonly known as Galbot, is a Chinese robotics and embodied artificial intelligence company headquartered in Beijing. Founded in May 2023 by Wang He and Yao Tengzhou, Galbot develops general-purpose humanoid and semi-humanoid robots powered by proprietary end-to-end embodied AI models. The company's product lineup includes the wheeled Galbot G1 and G1 Pro mobile manipulators for retail and light industrial applications, as well as the bipedal Galbot S1 for heavy-duty manufacturing.
Despite being founded only in 2023, Galbot has grown at an exceptionally rapid pace. By early 2026, the company had raised over $800 million in total funding across multiple rounds, reaching a valuation of approximately $3 billion and becoming the highest-valued unlisted firm in the global humanoid robotics sector.[1] Galbot's robots are deployed commercially in unmanned pharmacies and convenience stores across China through a partnership with Meituan, on automotive and battery production lines with Bosch and CATL, and at numerous other industrial sites. The company gained nationwide recognition after its robots appeared at the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala and won the gold medal at the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games.
Beijing Galaxy General Robot was established in May 2023 by Wang He and Yao Tengzhou. The company name in Chinese, 银河通用机器人 (Yinhe Tongyong Jiqiren), translates to "Galaxy General Robot," reflecting its goal of building general-purpose robots powered by embodied artificial general intelligence. From its inception, the company pursued a strategy centered on combining academic research in dexterous manipulation and computer vision with rapid commercialization.[2]
The founding team drew heavily from elite Chinese academic institutions and global technology companies. Core members came from Huawei's "Genius Youth" program, Baidu, Microsoft, and ABB Group, giving Galbot strengths in self-developed core components (motors and reducers), end-to-end large language model development, and mass-production engineering.[3]
In June 2024, Galbot completed an angel round of approximately 700 million CNY (roughly $96 million), led by Meituan. Other investors included Qiming Venture Partners, Lanchi Ventures, IDG Capital, and a Hong Kong government fund through the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC). At the time, this was the largest angel round ever raised by a company in the embodied intelligence sector in China.[4][5]
The partnership with Meituan was both financial and strategic. As one of China's largest online services platforms, Meituan provided Galbot with real-world deployment scenarios in pharmacies and convenience stores, accelerating the transition from laboratory prototypes to commercial products.
Galbot unveiled its first commercial product, the Galbot G1, in 2024. The G1 is a wheeled semi-humanoid robot that combines a dual-arm upper body with a 360-degree omnidirectional wheeled chassis, prioritizing stability, long battery life, and practical deployment over bipedal locomotion. By late 2024, the G1 began application testing for 24-hour unmanned operations in Meituan-partnered pharmacies across Beijing.[6]
In August 2025, Galbot unveiled the Galbot G1 Pro (also called the G1 Premium) at the World Robotics Conference (WRC) in Beijing. The G1 Pro featured the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor computing platform, making Galbot the first company in the world to integrate the Jetson Thor processor into a commercially deployed humanoid robot.[7]
In January 2026, Galbot introduced the Galbot S1, its first bipedal humanoid robot. Designed for heavy-duty industrial applications, the S1 features a 50 kg continuous dual-arm payload and autonomous battery-swap capability for around-the-clock operation.[8]
Galbot's fundraising trajectory accelerated through 2025 and into 2026. The company completed its Series A in June 2025 (approximately $153 million led by CATL), its Series B in December 2025 ($300 million at a $3 billion valuation), and an additional round of 2.5 billion CNY (~$362 million) in early 2026. Investors in the 2026 round included Sinopec, the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (the "Big Fund"), CITIC-affiliated entities, SAIC Motor's financial arm, and Bank of China. This marked the first investment by a national-level strategic fund in a Chinese embodied intelligence company.[1][9][10]
In total, Galbot raised nearly 5 billion yuan across just three months (December 2025 to March 2026). As of March 2026, Bloomberg reported that Galbot had selected Citic Securities, Huatai Securities, and UBS to work on a potential initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a target valuation of $3 billion to $4 billion.[11]
Wang He (王鹤), born in 1992, serves as Galbot's founder and Chief Technology Officer. His educational background spans three of the most prestigious institutions in China and the United States:
| Milestone | Details | |---|---|---| | High school | Beijing No. 11 School (admitted to Tsinghua University through the physics competition) | | Bachelor's degree | Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University (2014) | | Ph.D. | Computer Science, Stanford University (2021), advised by Professor Leonidas J. Guibas (member of three U.S. National Academies) | | Academic position | Tenure-track Assistant Professor and Ph.D. supervisor, Center on Frontiers of Computing Studies (CFCS), Peking University | | Research role | Research scientist, Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI) | | Lab director | PKU-Galbot Joint Lab of Embodied AI; BAAI Center of Embodied AI |
Wang He's research focuses on embodied perception, dexterous manipulation, and 6D pose estimation. His pioneering work on category-level 6D pose estimation (NOCS) received the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference Youth Outstanding Paper Award. He has published over 50 papers in top-tier venues including CVPR, ICCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICRA, and TRO.[12][13]
In 2025, Wang He was selected for Fortune magazine's "China's 40 Under 40 Business Leaders" list. On February 9, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected the Galbot G1 robot during a pre-Spring Festival visit to Beijing, where Wang He was present to brief the president.[14][15]
Yao Tengzhou co-founded Galbot alongside Wang He. He holds a master's degree from Beihang University's (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) Institute of Robotics, where he was mentored by Professor Wang Tianmiao, a prominent robotics scholar who serves as honorary director of the Beihang Robot Institute and president of the Zhongguancun Intelligent Friends Institute. Before co-founding Galbot, Yao Tengzhou worked at ABB Group's Shanghai Robotics R&D Center, accumulating years of experience in the development of industrial and service robots.[3]
Galbot's funding trajectory has been one of the most aggressive in the global humanoid robotics industry. The following table summarizes all publicly disclosed rounds.
| Round | Date | Amount | Key investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angel round | June 2024 | Meituan, Qiming Venture Partners, Lanchi Ventures, IDG Capital, Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) | |
| Series A | June 2025 | CATL (lead), Boyuan Capital (Bosch), multiple institutional investors | |
| Series B | December 2025 | ~$300M | Beijing Robotics Industry Fund, Jiyuan Capital, GGV Capital, CICC Capital, Chinese Academy of Sciences Fund |
| Additional round | Early 2026 | Sinopec, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, CITIC, SAIC Motor, Bank of China, CATL, CMG Media Fund, Suzhou Venture Capital, Tianqi Co. |
The cumulative funding exceeds $800 million, with a post-money valuation of approximately $3 billion as of late 2025. The early 2026 round made Galbot the highest-valued unlisted firm in the global humanoid robotics sector.[1][9][10]
Galbot employs a multi-tier product strategy, offering robots tailored to different market segments.
| Product | Type | Introduced | Target market | Key specification | Approximate price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galbot G1 | Wheeled semi-humanoid | 2024 | Retail, pharmacy, household | 5 kg/arm payload, 10-hour battery | ~$87,000-$97,000 |
| Galbot G1 Pro | Wheeled semi-humanoid | 2025 | Light industrial, advanced retail | 15 kg total payload, NVIDIA Jetson Thor | ~$55,000 |
| Galbot S1 | Bipedal humanoid | 2026 | Heavy-duty manufacturing, logistics | 50 kg dual-arm payload, 8-hour battery | Not disclosed |
The Galbot G1 is Galbot's first and most widely deployed product. Standing 173 cm tall with a 190 cm arm span, the G1 uses a 360-degree omnidirectional wheeled chassis rather than bipedal legs. This design provides up to 10 hours of battery life and reduces manufacturing costs by approximately ten times compared to a bipedal leg system. The G1 achieves a 95 to 97 percent grasp success rate across diverse materials and object types, and up to 99.5 percent in structured pharmacy and retail settings.[16]
The G1 is commercially available on JD.com at a listed price of 699,700 CNY. Galbot has stated plans to offer the G1 in sets priced at approximately 50,000 CNY (~$7,130) as production scales up.
The Galbot G1 Pro retains the G1's wheeled form factor but upgrades the computing platform to NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor (Blackwell architecture), delivering up to 2,070 FP4 TFLOPS of AI compute. This represents a 7.5x increase over the Jetson Orin used in the base G1. The G1 Pro's total payload capacity is tripled to 15 kg, and the company describes it as capable of 100 percent autonomous operation without teleoperation.[7]
The Galbot S1 is Galbot's bipedal humanoid, unveiled in January 2026 for heavy-duty industrial applications. Its 50 kg continuous dual-arm payload far exceeds the 20 to 25 kg range typical of most humanoid robots. The S1 features a dual-battery quick-swap design that allows it to autonomously replace its own batteries, enabling 24/7 operation. It has been deployed on CATL battery manufacturing production lines and operates using pure visual perception for 360-degree obstacle avoidance without QR codes or external markers.[8]
Galbot's robots are powered by a family of proprietary end-to-end embodied AI models. The company describes this as the "world's first end-to-end embodied AI model family" for humanoid robots.
| Model | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GraspVLA | Manipulation | A vision-language-action model trained on billions of simulated movements. The world's first foundational model for real-time closed-loop grasp generation. Supports zero-shot learning, enabling the robot to grasp rigid and deformable objects under varying lighting and backgrounds without object-specific training. |
| GroceryVLA | Retail operations | Specialized model for dense retail environments. Handles SKU identification, shelf scanning, and inventory management across thousands of product types. Enables manipulation of fragile jars and soft packaging without reprogramming. |
| NavFoM | Navigation | Foundation model for autonomous navigation using pure vision-based perception. Robots navigate environments without QR codes, pre-mapped routes, or external markers. |
| TrackVLA | Object tracking | Handles real-time tracking of objects and people in dynamic environments. Requires only a single natural language instruction to guide a robot through complex environments while navigating obstacles and interacting with humans. |
These models combine elements of large language models, computer vision, and robotic action planning into unified architectures. On the G1 Pro's Jetson Thor platform, multiple models run concurrently using Blackwell Multi-Instance GPU (MIG) technology, enabling simultaneous visual processing, manipulation planning, obstacle tracking, and voice interaction within real-time latency requirements.[7][17]
Galbot developed the DexGraspNet dataset in collaboration with NVIDIA using NVIDIA Isaac Sim, a robotics simulation platform built on the Omniverse 3D graphics engine. The dataset addresses one of the core challenges in robotics: teaching robots to grasp a wide variety of objects with dexterous hands.
| Version | Objects | Grasps | Categories | Real-world success rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DexGraspNet 1.0 | 5,355 | 1.32 million (ShadowHand) | 133+ | N/A |
| DexGraspNet 2.0 | Expanded (cluttered scenes) | Expanded | Expanded | 90.70% |
DexGraspNet 1.0 contains two orders of magnitude more grasps than the previous state-of-the-art Deep Differentiable Grasp dataset. The Galbot research team also proposed UniDexGrasp++, an object-independent approach for learning generalized dexterous grasping strategies from real point cloud observations and proprioceptive information, using a methodology called Geometry-Aware Iterative Generalist-Specialist Learning (GiGSL).[18]
Galbot employs a Sim2Real methodology that relies on NVIDIA Isaac Sim and Isaac Lab for building large-scale training datasets. The company's proprietary simulation dataset contains over 10 billion high-quality robotic action data points, covering grasping, navigation, deformable object manipulation, and multi-step task planning. This data is used to train VLA models that can then be transferred to physical robots with high fidelity.[17]
The company also co-developed the OpenWBT_Isaac platform with Tsinghua University and the Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute. This simulation platform enables whole-body teleoperation of humanoid robots and serves as a tool for collecting high-quality human demonstration data for training new manipulation skills.[7]
Meituan has been Galbot's most important strategic partner since the company's founding. Beyond leading the angel funding round, Meituan provides real-world deployment scenarios for Galbot's robots in the retail and healthcare sectors.
Beginning in late 2024, Galbot and Meituan developed a 24-hour unmanned pharmacy concept. The Galbot G1 operates autonomously in approximately 50 to 70 square meter pharmacies, performing the full cycle of retail operations: scanning shelves across approximately 5,000 SKUs, autonomously restocking when items run low, locating and picking items for customer orders, and delivering products directly to customers or delivery couriers.[6][19]
In March 2026, China's first fully robot-operated pharmacy went into service in Beijing's Haidian District, with the Galbot robot handling all medication sorting, retrieval, and dispensing tasks without human assistance. As of early 2026, more than 10 pharmacies across Beijing were using Galbot units for 24-hour unmanned operations, with plans to scale to over 100 smart retail locations by the end of 2026.[19]
Galbot has also deployed its robots in unmanned convenience stores branded as "Galaxy Space Capsule" (银河太空舱) locations. Each capsule is a compact 9-square-meter cabin housing a single Galbot robot that provides fully autonomous service, from greeting customers and processing payments to grabbing items and delivering them. Despite the small footprint, each store offers over 300 items including beverages, snacks, cultural products, and daily-use medicines with dedicated refrigerated and frozen storage.[20]
As of early 2026, Galaxy Space Capsule stores have launched in over 20 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, with more than 100 locations in operation.[20]
In June 2025, Galbot signed a three-way cooperation agreement with Bosch China (through its investment platform Boyuan Capital) to form the Boyin Innovation Alliance, a joint venture focused on deploying embodied AI robots in automotive and high-precision manufacturing. The joint venture also signed a memorandum of understanding with UAES (United Automotive Electronic Systems) to establish RoboFab, a joint laboratory dedicated to developing automotive-specific expertise in embodied AI.[21]
The partnership follows a "global design, local production" strategy, positioning Galbot to enter international markets including Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia through Bosch's extensive existing relationships with automotive OEMs. Dr. Ingo Ramesohl, Managing Partner of Bosch Ventures, stated that "embodied AI holds transformative potential to redefine manufacturing processes."[21]
CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, has been both a major investor and deployment partner. CATL led Galbot's Series A round in June 2025 and continued investing in subsequent rounds. The Galbot S1 is deployed on CATL's core production lines for heavy material handling tasks, marking one of the first real-world deployments of a humanoid robot in battery manufacturing.[8]
Galbot has established partnerships with several major automotive companies for manufacturing floor deployments. Confirmed partners include Toyota, Hyundai, BAIC Group, SAIC Group, and Zeekr. As of March 2026, the company had secured cumulative orders totaling several thousand units from these and other industrial clients.[1]
Galbot won the gold medal in the Robot Skills Competition at the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games, held in Suzhou, China. The robot competed with 100 percent autonomy against 21 other teams, many of which relied on remote teleoperation.
In the Pharmaceutical Sorting Challenge, the Galbot robot autonomously scanned six tall shelves, identified nine specific medications from hundreds of items, and delivered them in 10 minutes and 22 seconds. The final score of 336 points exceeded the second-place competitor by 160 points. The victory demonstrated the practical applicability of Galbot's embodied AI models in real-world-like settings.[22]
Galbot was selected as the exclusive official robot platform for the 2nd International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI), held in Beijing in August 2025. This marked the first time in history that an international AI competition incorporated real-robot practice. Over 300 high school students from 61 countries participated in the "Future Factory" challenge, which integrated simulation-phase development with real-world deployment on Galbot robots.[23]
On January 25, 2026, China Media Group (CMG) officially named Galbot the "Designated Embodied Large Model Robot" for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, China's most-watched television broadcast (comparable to the Super Bowl in the United States). Galbot appeared alongside Unitree Robotics, Noetix, and MagicLab in the gala on February 16, 2026.[24]
In the holiday short film "The Night I Remember Most," the Galbot robot demonstrated practical domestic skills including voice interaction, folding clothes, picking up objects, cracking walnuts, skewering sausages for grilling, and retrieving items from shelves. Following the broadcast, robot searches on JD.com surged 300 percent within two hours, customer service inquiries rose 460 percent, and order volume jumped 150 percent. New orders came from over 100 cities across China.[25]
On February 9, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected the Galbot G1 robot during a pre-Spring Festival visit to Beijing. Founder Wang He participated in the meeting and expressed the company's readiness to serve as a vehicle for China's participation in global technology competition during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Xi has met five robotics startup founders in the past year, giving the nascent sector unusual visibility at the highest levels of Chinese government.[14]
Galbot operates in a rapidly growing global market for humanoid robots. In 2025, approximately 13,000 to 18,000 humanoid robots were shipped worldwide, a 508 percent increase over the previous year. Chinese companies accounted for nearly 90 percent of all humanoid robots sold globally, and China controls the vast majority of the humanoid robot supply chain.[26]
The following table compares Galbot with its primary competitors.
| Company | Country | Key products | Focus area | Approximate valuation | Notable partnerships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galbot | China | G1, G1 Pro, S1 | Retail, pharmacy, heavy industry | ~$3B | Meituan, Bosch, CATL, Toyota |
| Unitree Robotics | China | H1, G1, H2 | Consumer, industrial | ~$3B (Series C) | Broad consumer market |
| Agibot | China | A2, A2 Max, Genie | Automotive manufacturing | Undisclosed | SAIC Motor, NIO |
| Figure AI | United States | Figure 02, Figure 03 | General-purpose, manufacturing | ~$39.5B | BMW, NVIDIA |
| Tesla | United States | Optimus Gen 3 | Consumer, factory | Part of Tesla | Tesla factories |
| UBTech | China | Walker S, Walker C | Education, service | Public (HKEX: 9880) | Multiple sectors |
| Fourier Intelligence | China | GR-2 | Rehabilitation, healthcare | Undisclosed | Healthcare institutions |
Galbot differentiates itself through several strategic choices. First, its wheeled-base G1 product line prioritizes practical commercial deployment over visually dramatic bipedal locomotion, offering tangible advantages in stability, runtime, and cost for flat-floor environments. Second, the company's deep partnerships with Meituan, Bosch, CATL, and major automakers provide real commercial deployment channels that many competitors lack. Third, Galbot's dual product strategy (wheeled G1 for services, bipedal S1 for industry) allows it to address a broader range of applications than companies focused solely on one form factor.[26]
However, Galbot faces intense competition. Unitree has achieved the largest shipment volumes in the consumer segment with aggressively priced robots. Agibot leads in automotive manufacturing deployments. Figure AI commands the highest valuation in the sector globally. And Tesla's Optimus program benefits from Tesla's massive manufacturing infrastructure and brand recognition.
Galbot's rapid growth has been supported by China's national policy emphasis on humanoid robotics. The Chinese government has identified humanoid robots as a strategic industry, and multiple government-affiliated funds have invested in Galbot's rounds, including the Beijing Robotics Industry Fund, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Fund, and the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund. In March 2026, China released its first national humanoid robot standard system to provide a framework for long-term industry growth.[27]
Beijing, Galbot's home base, has been particularly active in fostering the robotics industry. The city has established dedicated robotics industrial parks and innovation zones in Haidian District, where Galbot is headquartered, and the Beijing Robotics Industry Fund has been a recurring investor in Galbot's funding rounds.
Galbot's near-term plans include:
The company's rapid funding trajectory, early commercial deployments, and strong government support position it among the leading humanoid robotics companies globally in the race to bring general-purpose robots to mass-market adoption.