PHYMI
Category: Robotics / Embodied AI
Chinese embodied AI startup building 'Physical Agent' foundation models that let robots perceive, reason, and autonomously complete complex mobility and manipulation tasks in open, dynamic real-world environments. PHYMI was founded in 2026. The company is led by Liu Nianqiu (刘念邱). Based in Shenzhen, China. Total funding raised: $100M. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include IDG Capital (lead), Yunqi Partners (云启资本), DiDi Global, Fosun RZ Capital (复星锐正), YoToo Capital/Glory Ventures (耀途资本), Hesai Technology (禾赛科技).
- Founded
- 2026
- Headquarters
- Shenzhen, China
- Total funding
- $100M
Value proposition
PHYMI BRAIN — a full-stack embodied AI foundation-model system spanning multimodal perception, world modeling, reasoning/planning and action generation — enables 'Physical Agents' to understand humans and the world, predict physical interactions, and independently complete long-horizon real-world tasks, not just scripted demos.
Products and solutions
PHYMI BRAIN — embodied AI model system (multimodal perception, world modeling, reasoning & planning, action generation), PHYMI BODY — robotic hardware (mechanics/actuation, compute/comms, full-modal sensing, energy, safety), PHYMI DATA — multi-view cross-modal real-world dynamic data & task-feedback loop, PHYMI LINK — human–agent–environment interaction and multi-agent collaboration layer
Unique value
Focuses on long-distance, long-horizon mobility+manipulation tasks in open/dynamic real-world settings, applying an autonomous-driving-style data closed-loop methodology (collection→cleaning→training→simulation→OTA iteration) to embodied AI rather than a hardware-first approach
Target customer
Not yet publicly specified — pre-commercial; likely industrial, logistics and service-robot deployers given team background and stated R&D focus
Industries served
Robotics / Embodied AI, potential future logistics, industrial and service-robot applications (pre-launch)
Technology advantage
Founding team drawn from leading autonomous-driving, humanoid robotics and AI internet companies with experience in large models, VLA, real-machine reinforcement learning, full robot systems, data platforms and mass-production delivery — a rare combination the company argues is decisive for embodied AI success
How they differentiate
Positions itself around the 'Physical Agent' concept — general-purpose, long-horizon embodied intelligence for open dynamic environments — differentiating from body/hardware-first humanoid robotics plays by prioritizing the 'brain'/model layer and reusing autonomous-driving-grade data closed-loop methodology
Main competitors
AgiBot / Zhiyuan Robotics (智元机器人), Galbot / Galaxea (银河通用/星海图), Physical Intelligence (π)
Key partnerships
Hesai Technology (禾赛科技 / Hesai Group) — strategic corporate investor (3D LiDAR), DiDi Global (滴滴出行) — strategic corporate investor
Major milestones
Founded March 16, 2026 in Shenzhen (registered as 深圳费莫一科技有限公司), announced near-$100M seed round led by IDG Capital on September 9, 2026, one of the largest seed rounds in China's embodied AI sector to date
Market positioning
Early-stage but exceptionally well-capitalized new entrant in China's white-hot embodied AI sector (20+ players valued over RMB 10B), positioned on team pedigree and model-first strategy rather than hardware-first
Geographic focus
China (Shenzhen-based), competing within China's crowded embodied AI/humanoid robotics landscape with global ambitions
About Liu Nianqiu (刘念邱)
VP & Technology Partner at DeepRoute.ai (元戎启行), 2019-2026, led map-free autonomous driving and end-to-end/VLA model transition; earlier Senior Engineer at Intel; serial entrepreneur in smart hardware. Alumnus of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.