Chinese special-purpose robot maker Shihe Robotics, known internationally as RobotPlusPlus (ROBOT++), has completed a Series C financing round worth several hundred million yuan, according to reports from 36Kr and Pedaily. The round was co-led by Qiangang Capital — backed by Zhejiang state-owned port and shipping assets — and Zhongji Holdings, with participation from Guangxi Investment Capital, Guohai Innovation Capital and Juntong Capital. Existing shareholder Fosun RZ Capital increased its position.
From Ship Hulls to an IPO Narrative
Founded in 2015 by Tsinghua University PhD Xu Huayang, Shihe built its commercial base on wall-climbing robots for ship hull derusting, where it claims more than 70% of the Chinese market and efficiency five to six times manual work. Its product matrix now spans facade operations and ground inspection: the EM10 professional-grade embodied special robot combines a humanoid dual-arm operating system with embodied AI control and VR teleoperation to perform grinding, spraying, inspection and welding on complex metal surfaces such as ships and chemical storage tanks, while the QMA5 inspection robot targets hazardous industrial environments.
The company holds over 400 patents, exports to more than 100 countries, and reports a revenue compound annual growth rate above 50% over the past three years, with cumulative domestic and overseas orders in the hundreds of millions of yuan covering shipbuilding, chemical and energy sectors.
"Don't Build the Brain, Use the Brain"
In a notable contrast to the general-purpose humanoid race, Xu Huayang emphasized a focused strategy: "don't build the brain, use the brain" — concentrating resources on high-reliability robot bodies, scenario access, high-quality data and customer deployment capability rather than foundation model development.
Fosun RZ Capital Chairman Jin Hualong described Shihe as "one of the highest-revenue embodied AI companies in China" and endorsed its ambition to become the first public "wall-climbing embodied robot" stock, fusing AI large models, VLA and world models for high-risk marine industrial scenarios.
Deployment Plans
The new capital will fund four priorities: embodied AI integration, global market expansion, scaled delivery through manufacturing bases in Zhoushan, Jiujiang and Mianyang, and industry ecosystem and standards building. The company plans to globally debut a new generation of embodied intelligent special robots at the World Robot Conference in August, followed by an appearance at Germany's SMM maritime trade fair in Hamburg in September.
The round underscores a broader shift in China's embodied AI sector: investors are increasingly rewarding companies that have closed the commercialization loop in verified, high-risk industrial niches over those chasing general-purpose humanoid form factors.
