TARS
About TARS
TARS is a Robotics startup based in Shanghai, China that has raised $697M in venture capital across 3 funding rounds since 2025. The company reached Pre-A stage in March 2025 with a $120M round led by Hillhouse Capital Management. TARS's investor base includes 24 institutional funds, with Hillhouse Capital Management leading the most recent equity round.
TARS (它石智航) is a Shanghai-based embodied intelligence company founded in February 2025 by former executives from Huawei and Baidu, building general-purpose humanoid robots for industrial applications. Chairman Li Zhenyu was the originator of Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving platform and the Apollo Go robotaxi service as President of Baidu's Intelligent Driving Group; CEO Chen Yilun served as CTO of Autonomous Driving and Chief Scientist of the Automotive BU at Huawei. Co-founder and Chief Scientist Dr. Ding delivered the plenary keynote at ICRA 2026. TARS develops the A-series and T-series humanoid robots equipped with its proprietary AWE 3.0 (AI World Engine) embodied foundation model and the DexHand dexterous manipulation platform — a 21-degree-of-freedom robotic hand designed to mimic human hand biomechanics. The A1 robot set a Guinness World Record in March 2026 for the most sub-millimeter wire harness assemblies completed in one hour, the first such record for a Chinese embodied intelligence company. TARS also released WIYH (World In Your Hands), described as the world's first large-scale real-world Vision-Language-Tactile-Action (VLTA) multimodal dataset for embodied intelligence, opened to research institutions in December 2025. Since founding, the company has raised approximately $697 million across three rounds, culminating in a record-breaking $455 million Pre-A round in April 2026 — China's largest single-round financing in embodied AI history — co-led by Hillhouse Capital Management, HSG, and Meituan, with participation from over 15 strategic and financial investors.
TARS Funding Rounds Timeline
3 rounds · $697M raised · since 2025
| Round | Date | Amount | Valuation | Lead investor | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel | March 2025 | $120M | — | Hillhouse Capital Management | SAIF Partners, Linear Capital, Xiang He Capital, C&D Emerging Industry Investment, Junshan Capital, Bihong Investment, Guoqi Investment, Lingang Sci-Tech Venture Capital |
| Angel+ | July 2025 | $122M | — | Meituan | — |
| Pre-A | April 2026 | $455M | — | Hillhouse Capital Management | HSG, Meituan, Qiming Venture Partners, CICC Capital, Capitallink, Lanchi Ventures, Xiang He Capital, Linear Capital, Meituan Longzhu, Oriental Fortune, PEAKVEST, Meituan Strategic Investment, Hongtai Fund, TCL Capital, Futeng Capital, Shoucheng Holdings, C&D Emerging Investment, Hengxu Capital, CICV Investment, Beijing Robotics Industry Development Investment Fund, Shanghai State Investment Guide |
Investors in TARS
24 institutional investors across 3 rounds
Lead investors
Co-investors
Recent news about TARS
Questions about TARS
How much has TARS raised?
TARS has raised $697M across 3 funding rounds since 2025.
Who are the investors of TARS?
TARS's investors include Hillhouse Capital Management, Meituan, HSG, Qiming Venture Partners, CICC Capital, Lanchi Ventures, Xiang He Capital, Capitallink, PEAKVEST, SAIF Partners, Linear Capital, Meituan Longzhu, Meituan Strategic Investment, Oriental Fortune, Hongtai Fund, TCL Capital, Futeng Capital, Shoucheng Holdings, C&D Emerging Investment, Hengxu Capital, CICV Investment, Beijing Robotics Industry Development Investment Fund, Shanghai State Investment Guide, Junshan Capital.
When was TARS's last funding round?
TARS's most recent round was a $120M Angel in March 2025, led by Hillhouse Capital Management.
Where is TARS headquartered?
TARS is headquartered in Shanghai, China, and was founded in 2025 by Li Zhenyu, Chen Yilun, Dr. Ding.