Beijing-based Noetix Robotics is quickly emerging as a name to watch in China’s AI robotics sector. Just months after struggling to find early adopters for its Hobbit-sized humanoid robots, the company is now on track to deliver 2,000 units by the end of the year. The turning point came in April, when its flagship N2 robot placed second in the world’s first half-marathon for humanoids — an event broadcast nationwide.
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Since then, Noetix has seen a surge in interest from customers and sales partners across Europe and the Middle East, as well as new investors. The company is now in talks to raise $35 million at a $200 million valuation, effectively doubling its team to 100 employees and producing 10 robots per day.
Scaling Fast, but at a Cost
Founder Jiang Zheyuan says the marathon gave Noetix the visibility it needed. But the company’s rise comes with thin margins. The N2 retails for around $6,000, undercutting competitors like Unitree’s G1 by more than 50%. Gross margins currently hover just above 20%, a strategy Jiang compares to Xiaomi’s (XIACF) early low-margin smartphone play.
To support growth, Noetix plans to open two new factories in 2025 and scale production to 10,000 robots annually. The goal is to make humanoids affordable for mass-market households and use scale to push down prices even further. While most components of the N2 are sourced domestically, the robots still depend on foreign chips from Intel (INTC) and STMicroelectronics (STM). With U.S.-China tensions escalating, Jiang has already lined up domestic alternatives as a “Plan B” in case of stricter export controls.
Security concerns are also top of mind. After the marathon, the company began requiring visitors to cover their phone cameras as a response to fears of IP theft.
IPO Ambitions and Competitive Pressures
Noetix’s journey reflects both China’s national push for AI and robotics self-sufficiency and the challenges faced by underfunded challengers. Unlike well-backed rivals such as Unitree (funded by Tencent (TCEHY), Alibaba (BABA), and ByteDance affiliates), Noetix must operate lean. Still, Jiang is confident. With at least two years of cash runway, he is already eyeing a public listing in Hong Kong as soon as 2026.
As Noetix prepares for its next public showcase — a humanoid gymnastics and track event at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium — the startup is becoming a high-visibility example of China’s growing robotics momentum, and a test case for scaling affordable humanoids in a politically volatile global tech environment.