SynopsisChinese AI firm DeepSeek invested significantly in robot maker Unitree. They will jointly develop advanced AI models for humanoid robots. This partnership combines AI expertise with mechanical engineering capabilities. The collaboration aims to overcome challenges in robot autonomy and understanding. Both companies are based in China's eastern tech hub Hangzhou.ReutersChinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has invested 140.8 million yuan ($20.8 million) in robot maker Unitree and agreed to jointly develop AI models for humanoid machines, according to a stock-exchange filing.DeepSeek received 933,399 Unitree shares, representing 2.31% of the shares allocated through the Shanghai initial public offering's strategic ‌placement.The companies, both ⁠based ⁠in China's eastern tech hub of Hangzhou, said they would combine DeepSeek's expertise in ​AI models with Unitree's work in mechanical engineering, motion control and embodied intelligence.Unitree, ​also known as Yushu Technology, would give preference to DeepSeek when procuring model-training services and technical solutions. DeepSeek would similarly favour Unitree when ​purchasing robots or exploring embodied-AI applications, the filing ⁠said.The partnership ‌targets a key bottleneck for humanoid developers: building ​a robot "brain" ​capable of understanding unfamiliar surroundings and reliably turning instructions ⁠into physical actions.China has developed relatively inexpensive robots capable ​of walking, running and performing choreographed routines, but ​useful autonomous work requires models trained on scarce physical-world data, including demonstrations of manipulating objects and responding to changing environments.Chinese robot makers are operating data-collection facilities in which humans repeatedly guide humanoids through tasks such as folding clothes and opening doors.DeepSeek's AI models have performed ‌strongly on coding, mathematics and reasoning tests, while competing aggressively on price.But the company's strengths have been concentrated in ​language-model series rather ​than a multimodal ⁠system able to process vision alongside text. DeepSeek has released separate vision-language research models, including VL2, but they are not integrated into its flagship ​commercial model.A DeepSeek researcher briefly published a project in April on improving visual reasoning through points and bounding boxes before the paper and official GitHub repository were withdrawn without a public explanation.The Unitree partnership could provide DeepSeek with robots and physical-world data to accelerate such work. ...moreElevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea.Subscribe Now