Gasgoo Munich- Hangzhou Lingyan Technology Co., Ltd. recently closed a seed and seed+ funding round worth tens of millions of yuan.
Proceeds will fuel product iteration, core component R&D, algorithm platform development, and team expansion.
Founded in June 2026, this newcomer is venturing into territory few others dare to tread: the "face" of a humanoid robot.
Lingyan defines itself as a specialist in bionic dexterous faces and emotional interaction. Its flagship product, the FaceSoul Agent, is a full-stack solution designed for humanoid robots, service machines, and emotional companion devices.
But that is no easy feat.
Building a face means first figuring out how to make it move.
Most bionic faces on the market rely on linkage drives, where motors push and pull facial components via rods. It’s a quick way to design and fast-track a prototype.
But Zhao Changyi, founder and CEO of Lingyan Technology, argues that linkages suffer from three fatal flaws: they are noisy, bulky, and prone to sudden speed shifts at the end of a motion due to their "quick-return" mechanics. The result is a stuttering expression that looks more like a machine than a muscle.
Image Source: Lingyan Technology
Lingyan Technology, therefore, opted for cable drive. Ultra-thin wires are routed inside the face to mimic the layout of human facial muscles, pulling the skin to create expressions.
Cable drive offers lower force and a movement naturally closer to real muscles, but it demands complex wiring and long-term bionic testing. Lingyan has already achieved 32 degrees of freedom (DOF) in its facial mechanics and plans to launch a 46-DOF, fully cable-driven version by year’s end.
But movement alone isn’t enough. The real challenge is ensuring the expressions are accurate and natural.
To that end, the company developed its own emotional foundation model. It autonomously adjusts intensity based on context—distinguishing, for example, between a subtle smile, a grin, and a belly laugh—all while keeping interaction latency under 10 milliseconds.
This capability is structured into two layers within Lingyan’s FaceSoul Agent architecture. The "Face" layer handles physical presentation using bionic skin, muscle transmission, and temperature and posture sensing. The "Soul" layer houses an emotional engine, social cognition, and memory learning—mimicking the human brain’s perception, cognitive processes, and amygdala-driven emotional mechanisms.
On the product front, Lingyan has mapped out four lines. The Lingshu M1 targets education and research with open interfaces, while the Lingshu W1 is built for commercial services like guiding, reception, and coffee ordering. The Lingyun series focuses on home companionship, and the Lingneng series supplies plug-and-play facial modules directly to humanoid robot OEMs. Compatible with mechanical and communication interfaces from major manufacturers, these modules allow for a simple "head swap"—with pricing expected to stay below 10,000 yuan.
The products haven't officially launched yet, but B2B clients—including Hangzhou Shanglv, a leading telecom carrier, and several coffee chains—have already shown interest, primarily for scenic spot guidance and reception duties.
Zhao Changyi estimates that dexterous faces won’t enter households at scale until next year or the year after. For now, the focus is on perfecting the product and validating B2B scenarios.
About "Seeds":
Gasgoo's "Seeds" column is designed to build a service platform connecting startups, ecosystem partners, investors, and local governments to empower the industry’s upstream and downstream. Since its inception, the column has been dedicated to uncovering standout companies, technologies, and business models that offer inspiration and leadership during the wave of intelligent transformation—driving the growth of industrial innovation.
