EngineAI

A Shenzhen humanoid-robot company known for straight-knee walking and dynamic moves like front flips.

EngineAI was founded in Shenzhen in October 2023; its founder, Tongyang Zhao, previously led the robotics team at Peng Xing Intelligent, XPeng's robotics affiliate. The company prioritizes “physical fitness first” — making the robot body and its motion control (what the industry calls the “cerebellum”) strong before anything else. In October 2024, its SE01 achieved straight-knee walking (unlike the bent-knee gait of most humanoids), its PM01 went viral on video doing a front flip, and in December 2025 it released the full-size humanoid T800. Funding has moved quickly: JD.com led its Series A1 in 2025; in April 2026 it closed a $200 million Series B co-led by Henan Investment Group's Huirong Fund and Luxshare Precision at a valuation above RMB 10 billion, followed by a Series B+, and it has reportedly confidentially filed for a Hong Kong listing. The first batch of T800 units rolled off the line in May 2026, and in August, at the World Robot Conference, it unveiled its embodied-AI engine, EngineAI Awaken.

ExampleAfter T800's release, its movements looked so smooth that some accused the footage of being CGI; the company responded with a video of a T800 kicking down its own CEO, Tongyang Zhao.

Also called

Zhongqing Robotics, Engine AI

Related

EngineAI T800 · EngineAI PM01 · EngineAI SE01 · Straight-Knee Walking · Humanoid Robot · RL-based Locomotion Control

Sources

众擎机器人官网：完成2亿美元B轮融资，估值破百亿 (Chinese)
21经济网：众擎机器人创始人赵同阳：下一代产品定位打工机器人 (Chinese)
观察者网风闻：众擎机器人据报已秘密递表港交所 (Chinese)

As of

2026-08