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China’s youngest embodied AI startup, TARS, was established on February 5, 2025 by a star-studded team. It has secured $120 million in its angel round, setting a record for the largest angel funding round in China’s embodied AI industry.

The Shanghai-based company’s Chinese name, “ta shi”, is possibly inspired by the phrase of “ta shan zhi shi,” which refers to learning from external experience. However, according to its chief scientist, the name is actually inspired by the robot TARS in the film Interstellar, and also stands for “Trusted AI and Robotics Solution”.

The round was co-led by Lanchi Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners, with participation from Linear Capital, Hengxu Capital, Hongtai Aplus, Lenovo Capital, Xianhe Capital, and Hillhouse Ventures. The funds will be primarily used for product and technology development, model training, and applications. The company is said to boast three key strengths: "super algorithms" (advanced AI models), "super embodiments" (robot hardware), and "super applications" (mass production and specific scenario applications).

The company stands out with an impressive team spanning the entire AI development pipeline. Dr. Chen Yilun, Founder and CEO of TARS, believes that embodied AI will be the key driver of global industrial transformation over the next decade. Chen served as Chief Expert of AI Robotics at the Institute for AI Industry Research, Tsinghua University, CTO of Huawei’s Autonomous Driving division, and Chief Engineer of Machine Vision at DJI.

TARS’ Chief Scientist, Dr. Ding Wenchao, is a former Huawei TopMinds talent and a researcher at Fudan University’s Robotics Institute. His research focuses on AI for robotics, especially the application in embodied AI and autonomous driving.

As Chief Architect, Chen Tongqing, a PhD from Tsinghua University, has been a lead scientist for China’s major AI projects. He was formerly the Head of Intelligent Navigation at Huawei ADS, with extensive experiences in AI, autonomous driving, robotics, and industrial manufacturing.

The startup’s Chief Strategy Officer, Vincent, previously held key technology leadership roles at Huawei and Baidu.

A leading figure in China’s self-driving industry, Li Zhenyu serves as the startup’s chairman. As the former President of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group, he spearheaded the development of "Luobo Kuaipao," Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service.

In an interview, the second article published on its WeChat account, Ding said the core technology is the "AI World Engine" that aims to predict actions and environmental changes within a scene. It will employ a "human-centric" data collection method to achieve human-level embodied intelligence.