The funding highlights how service robotics is shifting from niche deployments to scaled commercial use across global markets
Updated
April 24, 2026 2:26 PM
An autonomous service robot with a cat face design standing inside a McDonalds restaurant. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Pudu Robotics, a Shenzhen-based startup building robots for commercial environments, has raised nearly US$150 million in a new funding round, pushing its valuation past US$1.5 billion. The raise brings the company’s total funding to more than US$300 million.
The company focuses on service robotics across sectors such as delivery, cleaning and industrial logistics. Its systems are used in places like retail stores, warehouses and public venues where routine tasks can be automated. Over time, Pudu has expanded from single-purpose machines to a broader portfolio that combines hardware with AI-driven navigation and coordination.
The funding is expected to support several areas of growth. These include further development of its AI systems, expansion of its product range and continued international rollout. The company also plans to invest in manufacturing and supply chain capacity, suggesting a focus on scaling production alongside demand.
Pudu’s recent growth provides some context for the raise. The company reported a doubling of revenue by 2025, with its cleaning robots now accounting for the majority of its business. Its industrial delivery robots have also seen early traction, with thousands of units deployed within a year of launch.
Its products are already in use with large global retailers including Carrefour, Walmart and EDEKA. Industry estimates place Pudu among the largest players in commercial service robotics, with a leading share of the global market.
Technically, the company develops much of its core stack in-house, including navigation systems, multi-robot coordination software and motion control. This allows its robots to operate in complex real-world environments where multiple machines need to move and work together.
“This financial milestone is a powerful confirmation of Pudu’s industry leadership, the strength of its products and technology, its global brand, and its commercial infrastructure. With the support of our strategic investors and industry partners, Pudu will continue to push the boundaries of embedded AI and business service robotics. We remain committed to innovating with an inventor’s spirit and leveraging a global vision to accelerate robot adoption, thereby elevating the industry to new heights in the global value chain”. said Felix Zhang, founder and CEO of Pudu Robotics.
The funding round points to a broader shift in the sector. As service robotics moves from pilot deployments to wider adoption, companies are increasingly being judged on their ability to scale production and operate across markets, not just on the novelty of their technology.
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AI meets AR: How Rokid Glasses bring multilingual, real-time intelligence to smart eyewear globally
Updated
March 17, 2026 1:01 AM
Rokid's smart glasses. PHOTO: ROKID
Rokid, a Chinese company specializing in AI-powered smart eyewear and human–computer interaction, has rolled out a major software update for the international version of its Rokid Glasses. This update makes it the first smart glasses manufacturer to natively support Google’s Gemini, alongside three other leading large language models: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek.
The integration is powered by Rokid’s device-to-cloud architecture, which enables users to switch between AI models on the fly. In practice, this means a traveler can receive a real-time translation in Japanese using one AI model, then quickly switch to ChatGPT to answer a technical query—without noticeable delay. The system also supports multi-modal inputs like voice and gestures, making interactions more intuitive for everyday use.
This is more than a routine software update. By combining AI models from both U.S. and Chinese developers, Rokid is making its smart glasses relevant to global users, with features that adapt to local languages and preferences while maintaining high performance.
These technological advancements have directly fueled Rokid’s international growth. Between November 2024 and October 2025, Shangpu Group data shows Rokid Glasses ranked No.1 in global sales for AI glasses with display functionality. Crowdfunding milestones further reflect this momentum: the product became the fastest smart glasses to raise over 100 million Japanese Yen on Japan’s MAKUAKE platform and broke Kickstarter records for smart eyewear.
Taken together, Rokid’s update highlights a shift in the smart glasses space: success increasingly comes from openness, flexibility and localized AI experiences rather than closed, single-platform ecosystems. By giving users choice, integrating global AI capabilities and bridging cultural and linguistic gaps, Rokid is positioning itself as a serious contender in the international AR and AI wearable market.