Liqing Intelligence, a China-based physical AI startup founded in April 2026 and backed by the team of Tsinghua University assistant professor Li Yiming, has reportedly raised several hundred million yuan in seed funding.

Investors include Shunwei Capital, Sequoia China, GL Ventures, Frees Fund, Starlink Capital, Shuimu Tsinghua Alumni Seed Fund, SEE FUND, and industrial backers AgiBot, Linker Hand, and Century Golden Resources.

Li’s academic background matches the startup’s focus.

Tsinghua said his research covers spatial intelligence, robotics, foundation models, and world models, and that he worked at NVIDIA before joining the university in March 2026 after completing a PhD in AI and robotics at New York University in 2025.

Liqing said it is building its own data pipeline, world model, and physics engine to train robots in real and simulated environments.

For now, the company is mainly using wheeled robotic arms.

The funding comes as investment in embodied AI and robotics rises in China.

AI startups in the country raised more than 110 billion yuan (US$16.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2026.

🔗 Source: 36Kr