DeepSeek plans to invest in the startup founded by Yu Tao, the head of the Pre-International Dynamics Model, with a valuation of 200 million USD

According to Top Chinese Innovation Society reports, former head of the basic model for humanoid robots at ZhiJi Dynamics, Yu Tao, has left to start his own venture, focusing on the combination of LLM and embodied intelligence. According to relevant sources, his company's first round valuation is 70 million USD, and the second round valuation is 200 million USD, with DeepSeek and a leading top-tier fund participating in the investment.

Yu Tao holds a PhD from the University of Science and Technology of China and was a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore. He previously served as a senior researcher in Tencent AI Lab's Absolute Enlightenment team, where he led the team to build the full-body tracking system LimX WBT and the motion generation system from scratch during his time at ZhiJi Dynamics. According to reports from Phoenix Technology, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has recently met with several entrepreneurs in embodied intelligence and is internally evaluating different entry methods, such as forming a team independently or investing in external startups.

In August of this year, DeepSeek invested approximately 141 million RMB through a strategic placement in Yushu Technology for its IPO; previously, Bloomberg also disclosed its plan to lead the investment in the robotics company Winverse AI founded by former Tencent AI scientist Hu Han.