WAIC exhibitors StepFun and Galbot draw state and industrial capital in China's AI funding surge

Large rounds are concentrating around foundation-model and embodied-AI leaders as investors expand from venture firms to hardware makers, automakers, carriers, and state funds.

Financing around companies exhibiting at Shanghai's World Artificial Intelligence Conference is offering a clear view of where Chinese AI capital is clustering. A 36Kr review drawing on IT Juzi data found that foundation models, embodied intelligence, and AI chips were among the most heavily funded fields represented at this year's conference, with the largest rounds flowing to a relatively small group of companies.

StepFun and Galbot are two of the clearest examples. Both have raised capital at a rapid pace, but the makeup of their investor groups is as important as the headline totals. Telecommunications companies, device manufacturers, automakers, battery makers, carriers, and state-backed industry funds are joining venture firms in the cap tables.

Shanghai-based foundation-model developer StepFun completed a $2.5 billion pre-IPO round in May 2026, according to the review. Investors included ZTE, Huaqin Technology, Tencent Investment, OmniVision Group, and Longcheer Technology. During the same month, Lotus Holdings led a separate 300 million yuan financing for the company.

StepFun was founded in April 2023. Its early backers included 5Y Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Sequoia China. The company completed a several-hundred-million-dollar Series B round in December 2024, when Shanghai State Capital Investment joined. It then raised 5 billion yuan in a Series B-plus round in January 2026 from investors including Shanghai State Capital Investment, 5Y Capital, Qiming, and Tencent. The $2.5 billion pre-IPO round followed about four months later.

That progression shows StepFun moving beyond a cap table dominated by financial investors. ZTE, Huaqin, OmniVision, and Longcheer operate across telecommunications equipment, smart-device manufacturing, image sensors, and handset design and manufacturing. Their participation suggests that industrial investors are looking for tighter links between foundation models, edge devices, and the hardware supply chain.

Beijing-based embodied-AI company Galbot has assembled a different mix of venture, industrial, and state capital. The review put its cumulative financing at more than 7 billion yuan from June 2024 through March 2026.

Galbot raised 700 million yuan in an angel round in June 2024 with participation from IDG Capital and Qiming. Roughly five months later, Meituan joined a 500 million yuan strategic investment. CATL and GGV Capital entered through a 1.1 billion yuan Series B round in June 2025. China Mobile and CICC Capital followed in a $300 million Series B-plus round that December.

In March 2026, Galbot raised another 2.5 billion yuan in Series B-plus financing from SAIC Motor, the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, and the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund. The company's investor base now spans mobility, batteries, telecommunications, consumer platforms, and national industry funds.

For robotics suppliers, those cap tables may matter beyond the cash itself. Strategic investors can offer manufacturing relationships, component access, distribution channels, and potential deployment environments. They also signal that China's embodied-AI race is increasingly tied to established automotive, electronics, and communications ecosystems.

Large financing rounds should still be separated from evidence of commercial scale. Capital raised does not prove that a company has achieved repeatable production, stable delivery, or durable customer demand. Suppliers and buyers will need to watch subsequent product launches, component orders, deployments, and disclosed revenue to determine whether the investment surge is translating into a functioning market.