Robot Era (星动纪元)
The Tsinghua-incubated humanoid company founded by UC Berkeley PhD Chen Jianyu — backed by Sequoia, SF Express and Alibaba, reportedly planning a US$1B Hong Kong IPO.
Company Overview
- Robot Era (北京星动纪元) was founded in August 2023 and is the only humanoid company directly backed by Tsinghua University. Its founder Chen Jianyu is an assistant professor and PhD supervisor at Tsinghua's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS, "Yao Class").
- Chen earned his bachelor's degree from Tsinghua's Department of Precision Instruments and his PhD at UC Berkeley under Masayoshi Tomizuka (US National Academy of Engineering, MPC pioneer), before being recruited by Turing Award laureate Andrew Yao to Tsinghua.
- Robot Era pursues a full-stack, vertically integrated route — "universal body + universal brain" — with commercial deployments in logistics and industrial settings. In 2026 its Ctrl-World world model, built with Stanford's Chelsea Finn team, topped the World Arena embodied benchmark.
Key Facts
| Full Name | Beijing Robot Era Technology Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 北京星动纪元科技有限公司 |
| Founded | August 2023 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
| Founder & CEO | Chen Jianyu (陈建宇, b.1992), Tsinghua IIIS assistant professor |
| Backing | Tsinghua (equity-holding), Sequoia, IDG, DH Capital, SF Express, Alibaba |
| Focus | Full-stack humanoid; logistics & industrial commercialization |
Data Snapshot
| Founder | Chen Jianyu — Tsinghua Precision Instruments BEng; UC Berkeley PhD (advisor: M. Tomizuka); IIIS assistant professor (Yao Class); Forbes 30 Under 30 China (2021) |
|---|---|
| Investors | Sequoia China, IDG, DH Capital, SF Express, Alibaba |
| 2026 News | Reportedly considering Hong Kong IPO targeting up to US$1B |
| Benchmark | Ctrl-World world model (with Stanford Chelsea Finn team) — #1 on World Arena, beating Google Veo 3.1 and NVIDIA Cosmos-Predict 2.5 |
| Commercial | Scale deployment in logistics and industrial scenarios |
Recent Milestones
- Aug 2023 — Founded in Beijing, incubated by Tsinghua IIIS
- 2024 — Angel round >RMB 100M; RSS 2024 paper unanimously top-scored
- Feb 2026 — Ctrl-World world model tops World Arena benchmark
- Apr 2026 — Sequoia, SF Express, IDG funding round disclosed
- Aug 2026 — Reportedly preparing Hong Kong IPO (up to US$1B)
Competitor Comparison
Versus Galbot and X Square (the other "academic founder" humanoid startups): Robot Era is uniquely Tsinghua-equity-backed and emphasizes full-stack in-house development rather than model-lab partnership. Its logistics/industrial commercialization push also differs from Galbot's retail/capsule-store focus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Robot Era (星动纪元) do?
Robot Era (星动纪元) (星动纪元) is a Chinese robotics company whose focus is Full-stack humanoid; logistics & industrial commercialization. It sits in the fast-moving Chinese humanoid and embodied-AI segment, where companies compete on joint actuation, perception and manufacturing cost.
How does Robot Era (星动纪元) compare with humanoid leaders such as Unitree, Fourier or Tesla Optimus?
China's humanoid field is crowded. Robot Era (星动纪元) is part of that ecosystem, competing against better-known names such as Unitree and Fourier and international programs like Tesla Optimus. Differentiation usually comes from Full-stack humanoid; logistics & industrial commercialization, plus supply-chain and cost advantages common to Chinese builders.
Where is Robot Era (星动纪元) based?
Robot Era (星动纪元) (星动纪元) is headquartered in Beijing, China, China, one of the country's robot-industry clusters.