一口气融资40亿，最强机器人大脑诞生，谁能跑通终局？

Core Insights - The article discusses the rise of Physical Intelligence (PI), a startup in the field of embodied intelligence, which has achieved a valuation of approximately 56 billion yuan (around 8 billion USD) after raising 600 million USD in its latest funding round [2] - PI's approach emphasizes a "software-first" strategy, aiming to create a universal robotic brain that can control various robot bodies without being hardware-dependent [5][6] - The competition in the global "universal robotic brain" arena is intensifying, with both international players like PI and domestic innovators like Qianjue Technology emerging rapidly [9] Funding and Valuation - PI's latest funding round was led by CapitalG, with participation from existing investors such as Lux Capital, Thrive Capital, and Jeff Bezos, as well as new investors like Index Ventures and T. Rowe Price [2] - The company's valuation surged from 2 billion USD to 5.6 billion USD in a short period, making it the highest-valued player in the universal robotic brain sector [2] - The funding history of PI includes a seed round of 70 million USD in March 2024 and an angel round of 400 million USD in November 2024 [11] Team and Expertise - PI has assembled a high-profile team, including CEO Karol Hausman from Google DeepMind and co-founder Sergey Levine, a leading academic in reinforcement learning [4] - The team comprises top talents from institutions like Google, Tesla, and Stanford, creating a strong research and development matrix that integrates academia and industry [4] Technological Advancements - PI aims to overcome the technical bottleneck of creating truly universal robots that can adapt to diverse scenarios and make autonomous decisions [5] - The newly released robotic foundation model π*0.6 significantly enhances the robot's generalization ability in complex tasks, showcasing impressive performance in real-world applications [6][8] - The model's capabilities include making espresso, folding clothes, and assembling industrial boxes with a success rate exceeding 90% [8] Competitive Landscape - The competition between PI and Skild AI highlights two distinct approaches: PI focuses on real-world training, while Skild AI emphasizes large-scale simulation environments [17][18] - Skild AI has also seen rapid valuation growth, reaching approximately 45 billion yuan (around 6.3 billion USD) within a year [13] - Both companies are vying to establish themselves as leaders in the robotic brain sector, with differing strategies for commercialization and technological development [21][34] Domestic Innovations - Qianjue Technology, similar to PI, is focused on developing a universal robotic brain and has formed partnerships with various hardware manufacturers [22] - The company aims to create a clear commercialization path by initially targeting household robots and gradually expanding into service and industrial applications [22] - The competition among domestic players like Qianjue Technology and international firms like PI reflects a broader trend in the robotics industry towards developing versatile and capable robotic systems [24]