Meituan has spearheaded a new investment in Shenzhen-based startup Variable Machines (自变量机器人), injecting hundreds of millions of yuan in a Series A funding round. This marks the latest expansion of the tech giant’s strategic portfolio within the embodied robotics sector, following previous investments in companies like Unitree and Galaxy General Robotics. Meituan Capital co-invested in this round, reinforcing Meituan’s commitment to advancing embodied intelligence technologies.
Founded in December 2023, Variable Machines focuses on developing general-purpose embodied intelligence through its proprietary “WALL-A” large model. CEO Wang Qian, a veteran of top U.S. robotics laboratories, aims to create versatile embodied robots capable of executing complex real-world tasks using primarily real-world data rather than simulations. The startup has raised over ¥1 billion across seven funding rounds within eighteen months of operation.
Variable Machines’ core innovation lies in its model’s zero-shot generalization capability – a critical feature for adaptable embodied robots. This allows their embodied robot systems to perform unfamiliar tasks without prior specific training. Wang Qian explained that by training models on diverse actions like pouring water and folding clothes simultaneously, the system extracts cross-task patterns, enabling minimal-data learning. Current success rates exceed 90% for intricate operations like zipper manipulation and garment organization.
Notably, the company demonstrated multi-modal output and embodied reasoning chain capabilities as early as late 2024, preceding similar announcements by Google’s Gemini Robotics in March 2025. This technological edge reportedly influenced Meituan’s decision for an exclusive investment in Variable Machines.
Dual-Path Investment Strategy
Meituan’s robotics portfolio reveals a deliberate diversification across competing technical approaches:
- Real-World Data Emphasis: Variable Machines prioritizes physical-world learning for its embodied robots, avoiding simulated environments due to transfer challenges.
- Simulation-First Approach: Galaxy General Robotics, another Meituan-backed embodied robot developer, relies entirely on synthetic training data migrated to physical machines.
Galaxy CEO Wang He has publicly highlighted data scarcity as the primary bottleneck in embodied intelligence development, citing Tesla’s requirement for 40-person teams collecting months of data for single tasks. This fundamental methodological divergence underscores the industry’s unresolved technical pathways.
“Meituan is essentially placing dual bets,” remarked an executive from a robotics firm. “With no dominant player yet emerging in the humanoid embodied robot space, spreading investments mitigates the risk of backing obsolete technologies.” The executive further noted that Unitree’s initially unpopular methodology later achieved breakthrough success, cautioning investors against single-path commitments to avoid missing “the next Unitree.”
Scenario-Driven Integration
Meituan’s embodied robot investments consistently prioritize practical applications aligned with its core businesses:
- Healthcare Integration: Following its 2023 investment in Galaxy General Robotics, Meituan partnered to develop the world’s first humanoid embodied robot-operated smart pharmacies. Two 24-hour unmanned pharmacies are already operational in Beijing, with plans for 100 nationwide deployments by year-end.
- Hospitality Solutions: Meituan-backed Yunji Technology integrated its service robots with Meituan’s food delivery platform, automating the “last 100 meters” of hotel deliveries.
- Logistics Expansion: Variable Machines will explore service applications across open retail environments post-funding.
This pattern reflects Meituan’s “retail + technology” corporate strategy announced earlier this year, emphasizing AI, drone delivery, and autonomous vehicles. Investment decisions reportedly involve CEO Wang Xing directly, who recently highlighted Meituan’s drone research dating back to 2017 and expressed public interest in CES robotics exhibitions.
A source close to Meituan disclosed: “The company evaluates embodied robot investments through synergy potential with existing operations. Since practical applications remain in proof-of-concept stages, Meituan prioritizes ecosystem development through strategic funding rather than in-house development for unproven segments.”
Established Investment Footprint
Meituan’s embodied robot investment history includes:
- Unitree: Became the second-largest shareholder (8% stake) after two 2024 investment rounds.
- Galaxy General Robotics: Consecutive investments in 2023-2024.
- Gaussian Robotics: Joined 2021’s Series B+ funding for cleaning robots.
- Faro Eastway: Supported 2022’s Series A for collaborative robots.
Notably, Meituan had evaluated Unitree during earlier funding rounds before ultimately investing this year. The company typically reserves core technology development for internal teams while using investments for specialized applications or technologically uncertain domains like advanced embodied robotics.
Wang Qian of Variable Machines emphasized post-funding that open-scenario implementation would accelerate practical deployments of embodied robots. As industry standards remain undefined, Meituan’s diversified investment approach positions it to capitalize on multiple potential breakthroughs in the embodied intelligence revolution.