XPeng’s robotics arm has raised more than $900 million in its first external funding round, giving the Chinese automaker’s humanoid robotics business a valuation of more than $6.3 billion.

The financing, disclosed on Monday, is described as the largest single-round private funding deal in China’s embodied AI industry, as competition intensifies to commercialize the technology. It also gives XPeng’s robotics business a standalone valuation as the company continues to separate the unit from its core electric vehicle operations. XPeng said it will continue to consolidate the robotics business into its financial statements after the transaction.

The round was led by IDG Capital, with participation from Beijing venture capital firm Gaorong Ventures and strategic investment from Chinese technology companies Tencent and Alibaba.

In a release, XPeng said the money will be used to accelerate hardware and software development, physical AI model training, data collection and the construction of mass-production facilities, while also supporting the company’s international expansion.

XPeng also said the investment will help it begin mass production of its Iron humanoid robot by the end of this year, with a monthly output target of 1,000 units. That production timeline places the business at an important stage as more automakers move from demonstrations and prototyping toward manufacturing planning and real-world deployment.

The company said Iron uses a full-stack approach covering robot hardware, control systems and physical AI models. According to XPeng, the robot has 76 degrees of freedom across its body, including 21 in each hand, and uses three of the company’s in-house Turing AI chips to deliver up to 2,250 TOPS, or trillions of operations per second, of computing power.

Initial deployments are planned for XPeng stores and industrial campuses, and commercial sales and deliveries in China and overseas markets are expected to begin in 2027.

“I believe the strong capital backing from leading global and strategic investors provides the resources needed to accelerate the growth of our robotics business,” He Xiaopeng, XPeng CEO, said in the release. “Iron brings together a highly human-like design, advanced AI intelligence, built to the highest standards of safety and quality.”

The new financing will also provide additional capital for the robotics business to expand its engineering team and develop its production capabilities as XPeng targets global markets.

XPeng is among a growing number of automakers pursuing humanoid robotics. Tesla and Hyundai have also invested heavily in the field, betting that experience in manufacturing, batteries, motors, sensors and AI could provide an advantage as the technology moves from research laboratories into real-world environments.