(Yicai) April 1 -- Dataa Robotics is moving steadily forward through a rough patch in the industry, despite the difficult external environment and short-term cash flow crisis, the Chinese humanoid robot maker, which was once worth CNY22.3 billion (USD3.1 billion), told Yicai in response to recent reports that the firm was closing operations.

Dataa Robotics’ Guangzhou office and Shanghai showroom have both been shuttered, Securities Times reported yesterday. 

“The firm is not officially bankrupt, but it is basically in the ‘ICU’ right now,” the report said, citing a former employee who left the company in July 2024.

Dataa Robotics generated about CNY600 million (USD82.7 million) in revenue last year, and this year it already has between CNY200 million and CNY300 million of pending or newly signed orders, the Beijing-based said. The company remains committed to delivering robots for use in airport services, healthcare and other fields to gather experience for future large-scale applications.

Amid tightening global tech financing conditions and the withdrawal of US dollar funding, the company underwent strategic adjustments last year, including optimizing its organization and resources, it said. It now focuses on humanoid robot R&D and three core sectors, namely smart manufacturing, the silver economy, and business services.

The company’s Ginger 2.0, the world’s first humanoid robot with 58 joints, has secured orders worth tens of millions of Chinese yuan, equivalent to millions of US dollars, said founder and Chief Executive Officer Huang Xiaoqing. Development of its 68-joint bipedal humanoid robot, the first in the country, is progressing smoothly, and it should be ready for trial commercial use at the end of the year.

China Best Group Holdings has completed a restructuring deal with Dataa to form a new subsidiary, Aberdeen Robotics, the investment holding firm said yesterday. The group plans to build a flagship ‘AI robotics + elderly care’ project in eastern Jiangsu province. Earlier this year, Dataa also signed an investment agreement with Tianjin’s Jinnan District.

Founded in 2015, Dataa has raised over CNY5.4 billion (USD744 million) across six funding rounds so far. After completing its Series C round in 2023, its valuation briefly peaked at CNY22.3 billion (USD3.1 billion), making it China’s highest-valued robotics unicorn at the time. Its investors include SoftBank, Everest Venture Capital, Bojiang Capital, and Keytone Ventures, alongside industrial funds from cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. However, the company has yet to go public.

Editor: Kim Taylor