Gasgoo Munich- Shanghai Kepler Robot Co., Ltd. announced on February 6 that it has secured over 100 million yuan in strategic financing, led by A-share listed Hangzhou Kelin Electric Co., Ltd. Following the round, Kelin Electric will hold roughly a 10% stake in Kepler.
As part of the partnership, the two companies will build a long-term, stable, and multi-dimensional cooperation mechanism spanning supply chain synergy, business scenario implementation, and capital collaboration. The goal is to jointly drive the large-scale application of embodied intelligence in industrial settings.
Specifically on the supply chain and R&D front, Kelin Electric will open up its mature, high-quality electrical components and manufacturing systems to Kepler. This move aims to boost hardware reliability, cost control, and delivery efficiency, while accelerating joint R&D initiatives. On the business side, leveraging Kelin's customer base and channel advantages in power grids, new energy, and industrial sectors, Kepler gains a faster route to market for its products and solutions.
Meanwhile, Kepler's technological capabilities will be deeply integrated into Kelin Electric's overall solution portfolio, offering customers a one-stop service with greater systemic value.
Image Source: Shanghai Kepler Robot Co., Ltd.
Kepler has established a comprehensive embodied intelligence framework that spans an "intelligent brain" and "industrial-grade hardware." This creates a software-hardware integration capability that bridges cognitive decision-making with physical execution.
At the "intelligent brain" level, Kepler centers on its self-developed hierarchical model, VLA+, to build an embodied intelligence architecture tailored for industrial scenarios. The system integrates a multimodal interaction agent combining visual perception, language understanding, and action decision-making. This achieves unified coordination from semantic understanding to physical execution, enabling robots to not only "see and hear" but also perform closed-loop control—parsing tasks, planning paths, and executing actions within complex, dynamic environments.
On the hardware front, Kepler has engineered its systems specifically for industrial and special operations. Its robots support long-endurance tasks and utilize self-developed planetary roller screw actuators. These components achieve breakthroughs in high load capacity, low backlash, and longevity, providing a solid physical foundation for precise and stable execution in challenging environments.
Kepler has successfully closed the loop on a "scenario-driven, data-accumulated, rapidly iterated, and scale-delivered" business model. Its flagship humanoid robot, the K2 "Bumblebee," has undergone continuous validation in demanding real-world scenarios such as high-altitude welding, automotive manufacturing, and industrial logistics—demonstrating the technology's readiness for productization and engineering.
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Gasgoo's "Seeds Discovery" column is designed to serve as a platform connecting startups, ecosystem partners, investors, and local governments, empowering the entire automotive supply chain. Since its inception, the column has focused on identifying standout companies, technologies, and business models that are shaping the intelligent transformation of the industry. According to Gasgoo, nearly every startup featured in "Seeds Discovery" has gone on to successfully secure resources within the industrial ecosystem.
