The Singapore-headquartered merchant operating system grew annualised recurring revenue 61% in 2025 and turned profitable across four Southeast Asian markets on a lean capital base.

SINGAPORE, June 30, 2026 — Qashier, a unified merchant operating system for Southeast Asia, today announced a US$6.125 million Series A+ financing round comprising equity and debt. The round was led by Cocoon Capital, IFP Securities and BlackSoil Global, with participation from strategic angel investors. The capital will support regional expansion and product development.

The raise follows a year of disciplined operating progress. Qashier now processes US$1 billion in annualised payment volume for more than 20,000 merchants across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, and has been profitable every month since December 2025. Over the year it grew annualised recurring revenue 61% and secured its Major Payment Institution licence in Singapore in February 2025. The company has reached these milestones having raised under US$20 million to date, a level of capital efficiency rare among payments businesses at its scale.

Southeast Asia is home to more than 70 million SMEs and a digital payments market exceeding US$1 trillion, yet most merchants still run their businesses on disconnected systems — separate providers for point-of-sale, payment acceptance, inventory, customer engagement and financing. That fragmentation adds cost, creates blind spots, and holds back businesses trying to grow across outlets and borders.

Qashier brings these functions onto a single platform, combining payments, business software, CRM and embedded financial services across more than 50 integrated modules — spanning ordering, inventory management, loyalty and automated marketing — and over 20 regional payment methods, including cards, QR, e-wallets and buy-now-pay-later. Crucially, Qashier owns its end-to-end payments stack — KYC, processing, payouts and cross-border settlement — giving merchants a faster, fully integrated experience and more competitive pricing, while generating the proprietary transaction data that powers the rest of the platform.

That data advantage is most visible in QashierLoans, the company’s revenue-based lending product launched in June 2025. Underwritten entirely on proprietary platform data and repaid automatically from each merchant’s daily sales, QashierLoans has disbursed more than US$10 million to over 100 SMEs since launch — extending Qashier’s role from commerce software provider to financial operating partner, and turning every transaction on the platform into a sharper credit signal.

“We are building the operating system for Southeast Asia’s SME economy — and we are building it profitably,” said Christopher Choo, Co-Founder and CEO of Qashier. “Merchants should not have to stitch together five vendors to run one business. By bringing payments, software, financial services and customer engagement into a single ecosystem, we give them clarity, lower costs and the confidence to scale across markets. This round lets us leverage that advantage into the next phase of growth.”

Cocoon Capital has backed Qashier since its early days. “We have been proud to support Qashier since its beginning, and this latest round is a testament to what the team has built,” said Michael Blakey of Cocoon Capital. “What continues to impress us is their ability to navigate every obstacle placed in their path with resilience and ingenuity. Qashier’s cofounders, Christopher Choo and Franklin Zhao, have an exceptionally clear and compelling vision for what Qashier is becoming, ‘the default operating infrastructure for commerce across Southeast Asia,’ and we remain firmly committed to supporting that journey.”

With the new funding, Qashier will focus on enhanced omnichannel payments, broader embedded financial services, and AI-enabled insights and workflow automation. It will also expand its offering for larger, multi-outlet businesses, particularly in food and beverage and beauty and wellness, where merchants require sophisticated workflows, consolidated reporting and a consistent customer experience across locations and markets. Qashier is preparing for a Series B round to fund its next phase of growth, with milestones expected in recurring revenue, payment licensing and loan disbursements.

About Qashier

Qashier is a unified merchant operating system that brings together payments, business software, embedded financial services and customer engagement tools on one platform. Operating across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, Qashier supports more than 20,000 SMEs with an integrated ecosystem built for Southeast Asia’s digital economy.

About Cocoon Capital

Cocoon Capital® is a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in enterprise software and deep tech across Southeast Asia. Founded in 2016, Cocoon has more than USD 90 million assets under management and has made over 30 investments to date. The firm backs companies building transformative solutions in sectors including medtech, advanced manufacturing, logistics, diagnostics, and climate tech. With its slogan “Dare to Change™”, Cocoon stands apart by leading early, taking concentrated positions, and working hands-on with founders from Seed through Series A. Portfolio companies include Aprisium, TransTRACK, Shomvob, Augmentus, Bioactivx, BuyMed, See-Mode Technologies, and Volt14. Learn more at www.cocooncap.com.

SOURCE Cocoon Capital; Qashier Pte. Ltd.

Rev1 Doubles Scaleup Suite Residents and Sees Continued Growth in Membership

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 30, 2026 — Rev1 at The Peninsula is emerging as the hub for AI innovation in downtown Columbus, with the addition of Spearfish, Symmitri and jakib.ai to its growing roster of Scaleup Suite residents. The companies join RWX in establishing a presence at the founder-focused innovation space, creating a concentrated community of high-growth technology companies, investors, and experienced operators under one roof.

Since launching earlier this year, the innovation hub designed to help software and advanced technology startups grow faster has grown to nearly 90 members, reflecting strong demand for founder-focused workspace, community, and resources in downtown Columbus.

“When ambitious companies share a space with experienced operators, investors, and mentors, ideas move faster, partnerships form more naturally, and founders gain access to the kinds of relationships that can change the trajectory of a business,” said Tom Walker, CEO of Rev1 Ventures. “That’s the environment we’re intentionally creating here and why we’re seeing such high-demand so quickly.”

For Spearfish, the decision to join The Peninsula was driven by the unique concentration of experienced founders and AI-focused activity under one roof.

“The magic of Rev1 at The Peninsula is collision,” said Ray Bohac, founder and CEO of Spearfish. “Proven founders and AI-centric capital in one building, running into each other by chance, sharpening each other constantly. Rev1 has fused seasoned operators with the energy of AI investment into a single hyper-focused place, and the spontaneous connections that come out of it are impossible to replicate anywhere else. Getting to participate in that is a dream.”

The Peninsula’s second-floor Scaleup Suites are designed for companies ready to scale, while its first floor features 14,500 square feet of flexible workspace, including a founder lounge, event space, meeting rooms, and membership options designed to foster collaboration among entrepreneurs.

“What stood out to us was not just the space itself, but how intentionally it is designed for interaction,” said Jonathan Poma, founder and CEO of Symmitri. “We’re building alongside other companies at a similar stage upstairs, and downstairs there is always something happening in the founder lounge or event space that pulls you back into the broader Rev1 community. That constant connection between focused work and spontaneous collaboration is exactly what we were looking for. As an AI company, this move is about putting us in an environment that matches the pace we are trying to operate.”

Combining workspace, community, mentorship, and access to capital, Rev1 at The Peninsula delivers an environment where founders can accelerate growth while contributing to the broader Columbus innovation economy.

“I’ve learned throughout my career that what matters most in an innovation ecosystem isn’t mass or volume – it’s talent density,” said Andy Jenks, co-founder of Jakib.ai. “When exceptional people are brought together and put shoulder to shoulder, even across different companies, it can create magic. That’s what we were looking for in Columbus, and it’s exactly what we found at The Peninsula. You can see it in the founders and people on the scale-up floor every day.”

Rev1 at The Peninsula is supported by the City of Columbus and Downtown Columbus, Inc. (DCI), and is a key component of the region’s economic development strategy to attract and retain high-growth companies in downtown Columbus.

To explore membership opportunities or learn more about Rev1 at The Peninsula, visit rev1ventures.com/peninsula.

About Rev1 Ventures
Rev1 Ventures is where founders go to build. As a Midwest venture studio, Rev1 partners with innovators in Saas/AI, deep tech, and life sciences to turn bold ideas into scalable companies. From day one, Rev1 helps startups move faster and grow smarter by validating markets, gaining traction, and becoming venture ready. A catalyst for early-stage growth, Rev1 connects founders to the mentors, partners, and early customers that accelerate progress and position startups to attract investors. With hands-on support, a powerful network, and collaborative spaces designed for growth, Rev1 gives startups the foundation to build stronger and scale. For more information, visit https://www.rev1ventures.com.

SOURCE Rev1 Ventures

FORT COLLINS, Colo., June 30, 2026 — The landscape of American entrepreneurship is shifting away from labor-intensive startups toward high-tech, automated systems that work even when the owner is asleep. At the center of this evolution is Healthy Smart Mart™, the pioneer of the micro-market franchise industry. For the ambitious entrepreneur, these markets represent more than just a refreshment stand; they are a sophisticated wealth engine designed to transform a side hustle into a scalable business empire.

The Power of Automated Retail

Unlike traditional vending, which is often limited by mechanical spirals and cash-only hurdles, the Healthy Smart Mart™ model utilizes seamless, cashless convenience. For the entrepreneur, this means the end of “trading time for money.” By placing an unmanned, high-tech market within a corporate office, owners tap into a captive audience of professionals who prioritize quality and speed. The result is a business that operates 24/7 without the overhead of a payroll or the headaches of traditional staffing.

Why Office Markets are the Ultimate Asset

The strategy is simple: target the professional environment where employees are already looking for better breakroom options. While an office sees a market as an amenity, the entrepreneur sees it as a consistent revenue stream.

• Low Overhead: No rent for the space is typical, as offices provide the footprint to benefit their staff.
• Data-Driven Growth: Integrated technology allows owners to track inventory and sales in real-time from a smartphone.
• Premium Positioning: By offering healthy, fresh options, owners command higher margins than traditional “junk food” vendors.

Scaling to the Next Level

Healthy Smart Mart™ provides the blueprint for those who want to lead the industry rather than just participate in it. Because the model is so lean, the transition from one location to ten is remarkably fluid. This scalability is what turns a modest investment into a true wealth engine. For the next generation of entrepreneurs, the path to financial independence isn’t found in a cubicle—it’s found in owning the market right outside of it. By leveraging the pioneering technology of Healthy Smart Mart™, savvy owners are reclaiming their time and building a legacy of automated success.

About Healthy Smart Mart™

Healthy Smart Mart™ offers a premier business opportunity for entrepreneurs ready to enter the micro market industry. By transforming traditional workplace break rooms into modern, cashless convenience stores, they help operators build profitable businesses. The company provides a proven model, innovative technology, and a unique funding program to ensure success.

Bill Way, CEO, is a recognized authority in the field and a number-one Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Most notably, his latest book, Micro Markets – Profit From The Automated Convenience Store BOOM! outlines the future of the vending and micro market industry and is the first and ONLY book in print on the subject. Mr. Way is available for interviews, which tend to be quite fun and extraordinary. For more information, please visit HealthySmartMart.com.

Contact Information
Name: Bill Way
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: (970) 222-8582

SOURCE Healthy Smart Mart™

The recognition caps a year in which several BFF portfolio companies were acquired and another listed on Nasdaq.

SINGAPORE, June 30, 2026 — Blockchain Founders Fund (BFF), an early-stage venture capital firm backing pre-seed and seed Web3 founders globally, has been named Best Early-Stage Blockchain Venture Capital Fund 2026 at APAC Insider’s Singapore Business Awards, its third consecutive year of recognition by the program.

The award caps a standout year for the firm’s portfolio. Backed Finance, a tokenized-asset platform BFF backed early, was acquired by Kraken; Roundtable (RTB Digital), another early BFF investment, became publicly traded; and portfolio companies including TransFi and Kredete crossed eight-figure annual revenue. BFF joins past honorees including Singtel, Trust Bank, NTT, YouTrip, Antler, and Avis Budget Group among organizations recognized for driving innovation across the region.

“We back founders rebuilding how money and value move, often years before the market catches on, and we stay hands-on from the first prototype to real revenue,” said Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner at BFF. “The proof is in what they go on to build: companies that reach millions of users, cross eight-figure revenue, and go on to acquisitions and public listings. That impact is what we work for, and it is good to see it recognized.”

BFF’s operator-led investment model pairs capital with hands-on company building across business model design, market positioning, go-to-market execution, and strategic hiring. This differentiated approach was again cited as a key factor in the selection process.

“We back founders building the infrastructure that will define how value moves across the internet,” said Mansoor Madhavji, Partner at BFF. “Our job is to compress the distance between a working prototype and real commercial traction.”

BFF’s portfolio spans 200 startups across DeFi, infrastructure, and enterprise blockchain, with the firm continuing to deploy globally into pre-seed and seed opportunities.

About Blockchain Founders Fund

Blockchain Founders Fund is a leading early-stage Venture Capital fund that invests in top-tier founders globally. Backed by a strategic mix of leading firms across Web3 and traditional finance, BFF pairs capital with hands-on company building, curating partnerships, hiring talent, accelerating growth, and helping ensure portfolio founders are well capitalized. The team is comprised of builders and operators who have scaled many of the leading blockchain startups.

Press Contact
Mansoor Madhavji, Partner
Blockchain Founders Fund
60178799291
[email protected]

SOURCE Blockchain Founders Fund

SAN DIEGO, June 30, 2026 — Harpoon Ventures , the early-stage venture capital firm founded by former Navy SEAL and Olympic medalist Larsen Jensen, today announced the final close of its oversubscribed Fund IV with $155 million in committed capital, bringing the firm to over $450 million in total assets under management.

Fund IV will continue Harpoon’s strategy of partnering with founders at the frontier, building mission-critical technologies across artificial intelligence, deep tech, and defense. The new fund comes as technological leadership, industrial capacity, and national security increasingly converge.

“The next generation of companies will not just build great products – they will solve problems that matter to our nation’s long-term competitiveness,” said Larsen Jensen. “Harpoon was built to help founders move faster across both commercial and government markets, and Fund IV gives us more firepower to back the teams building what the future demands.”

Harpoon has built a platform designed to help founders convert government adoption into a growth engine. The firm has helped its founders unlock over $1 billion in government contract opportunities, from non-dilutive grants to major programs of record, supporting them as they navigate government, defense, and enterprise markets.

Fund IV builds on Harpoon’s track record as an early backer of breakout critical technology companies. The portfolio counts multiple unicorns such as Aalo Atomics, Astranis, Kodiak, MatX, n8n, Solugen, and Starcloud, in addition to earlier-stage companies building technologies in markets shaped by technical complexity, urgency, and scale.

This fund will additionally support Harpoon’s Black Flag program, backing companies at the earliest stages with capital, mentorship, and go-to-market acceleration. Through three cohorts, the program has invested in 12 companies building across various industries strategically important to national security.

Harpoon’s limited partners include leading U.S. pensions, endowments, and family offices that share the conviction that critical technologies will define the next era of Western competitiveness.

About Harpoon Ventures

Harpoon Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Diego backing bold founders building critical technologies to restore and maintain Western strategic advantage for future generations. Founded in 2018 by former Navy SEAL and Olympic medalist Larsen Jensen, Harpoon invests across artificial intelligence, deep tech, and defense. Harpoon provides founders with hands-on operational support, including expertise in government contracting, procurement, and strategic partnerships. For more information, visit: www.harpoon.vc.

Media Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE Harpoon Ventures

Led by Georgian, the round is the largest Series A in Canadian defence history and backs Dominion’s drive to revive the country’s tradition of building world-defining technology

OTTAWA, ON, June 30, 2026 – Dominion Dynamics, a defence technology company building next-generation defence systems for extreme environments, today announced a $139M CAD ($100M USD) Series A financing led by Georgian. The round included participation from Valor Equity Partners, Expeditions, Lakestar, OMERS, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Deloitte Ventures (Canada), JDY Capital and existing investors British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), Bessemer Venture Partners, Garage Capital, Golden Ventures and Silent Ventures. It marks the largest Series A funding round in the history of Canadian defence. Dominion has now raised $169M CAD since launching in June 2025.

“Canada once built technology the rest of the world wanted, then convinced itself that was someone else’s role. We started Dominion to show the capability never left, and this round lets us build at the scale and speed the moment demands,” said Eliot Pence, founder and CEO of Dominion Dynamics.

The financing follows a period of rapid execution and growth. Earlier this year, Dominion deployed its flagship software platform, AuraNet, with the Canadian Armed Forces during Operation Nanook-Nunalivut.

Over two months, across the High Arctic, Canadian Rangers used AuraNet with Dominion’s Arctic-hardened sensors to turn scattered communications and data into a single operating picture, supporting mission tracking, planning, and real-time communications. The exercise was entirely self-funded and an example of Dominion’s approach to working alongside operators to drive iterative development.

Dominion will use the Series A to accelerate AuraNet and Scout, its Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), which extends the reach of crewed fighter planes into austere environments. The raise will also support Dominion in growing its team to over 100 by the end of the year. Dominion has recruited senior engineering talent from Anduril, Tesla, Rheinmetall, Google, and Rivian, as well as veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces.

“Starting in the Arctic means starting with the hardest problem set on Earth,” said Pence. “The engineers joining Dominion understand that technology proven in the world’s toughest environment can succeed anywhere.”

Now in a significant growth phase, the company moved into a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Kanata, Ontario, in June and opened a Toronto development office.

Dominion’s fundraise lands at an inflection point for Canadian defence. Canada has now met NATO’s 2 per cent defence-spending benchmark and has committed, alongside allies, to reach NATO’s new 5 per cent target by 2035. Earlier this year, the Government of Canada released its first Defence Industrial Strategy and established the Defence Investment Agency. Ottawa has also pledged to direct 70 per cent of defence spending to Canadian firms, increase defence R&D by 85 per cent, boost exports by 50 per cent, and create 125,000 new jobs. Together, these initiatives represent the most ambitious defence industrial expansion in modern Canadian history.

About Dominion Dynamics
Backed by leading angels, venture funds, and Canadian pension capital, Dominion Dynamics is building the digital backbone for next-generation command and control. Our team draws talent from some of the world’s leading defence and technology companies, combining Silicon Valley velocity, Waterloo-calibre engineering, and a hard national security mission focus. Learn more at www.defendthedominion.com.

SOURCE Dominion Dynamics

Capital to Globally Scale Its Forward Deployed Engineer Model

NEW YORK, June 29, 2026 — GenerativeX, Inc. today announced the close of a $4 million Series A round led by Nissay Capital, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Angel Bridge, DeepCore, and SMBC Venture Capital.

Since its founding in June 2023, GenerativeX has grown to serve more than 80 enterprise clients across financial services, health sciences, manufacturing, and telecommunications. The company deploys dedicated teams of Forward Deployed Engineers, or FDEs, who are also domain experts and work directly with client teams. GenerativeX’s FDEs write production code themselves, applying their business acumen to quickly deliver working solutions to clients and stakeholders.

Use of Proceeds

1. Market Expansion: Scaling teams in the United States to serve more enterprises across North America.

2. Talent Growth: Hiring senior leaders, consultants, and FDEs to meet growing demand without compromising quality.

3. Acquisitions and Partnerships: Pursuing opportunities that deepen and broaden GenerativeX’s value proposition.

Focus Areas

1. AI Strategy for the Board Level: Helping executives convert AI investment into measurable results.

2. Building In-House AI Capabilities: Helping clients develop AI solutions internally, reducing long-term dependence on external vendors.

3. AI Risk and Security: Enabling enterprises to move quickly on AI while maintaining governance, compliance, and security.

“Coding agents are reshaping how every business is run, not just how software gets developed. What enterprises need is a partner who can take them all the way from strategy to working product. We’ve done that for some of the world’s largest companies, and this round lets us scale that model further,” said Rei Araki, Founder and CEO of GenerativeX.

“We backed Rei’s first venture, and we’re proud to back him again. Most organizations are still figuring out how to make AI work at scale. GenerativeX has already cracked that problem for major enterprises. We believe they’re the team to define what enterprise AI looks like globally,” said Yusuke Ito, Senior Capitalist, and Zhi Li, Capitalist, both at Nissay Capital.

“GenerativeX consistently delivers real business impact for clients. We’ve seen it firsthand through our work together on Agentforce deployments. They are one of the strongest teams bringing enterprise AI to life at scale, and we’re excited to keep building on this partnership,” said Sho Yamanaka, Principal at Salesforce Ventures.

Media Contact
GenerativeX, Inc. — Public Relations
[email protected]
https://generativex.com 

About GenerativeX, Inc.
GenerativeX deploys agentic AI solutions for the world’s largest enterprises. Its Forward Deployed Engineer teams work side by side with clients across multiple industries, supporting them from AI strategy and implementation through production code. Founded in 2023, GenerativeX has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Tokyo.

SOURCE GenerativeX

Round led by Marathon with continued support from Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed. Trusted by Fortune 500 enterprises and Frontier AI labs, the company defends the fastest-growing workforce in the enterprise: AI agents.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 29, 2026 — Straiker, The Agentic Security Company, today announced a $64 million Series A, bringing its total funding to $85 million. The round was led by Marathon Management Partners, Citi Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and Workday Ventures, with continued support from Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed. Gokul Rajaram, founding partner of Marathon, is joining the Board of Directors.

The fastest-growing workforce in the enterprise

AI agents are becoming the fastest-growing workforce in the enterprise. They are automating a growing range of work, from everyday productivity tasks to back-office operations and mission-critical customer workflows. IDC expects more than one billion AI agents deployed across enterprises by 2029, 40x the number in 2025.¹ No workforce in enterprise history has scaled this fast.

Unlike traditional software, agents reason dynamically and act independently across systems on behalf of users. That autonomy is their power, and a new class of risk that deterministic controls were never built to govern. This spring, Reuters reported that attackers manipulated Meta’s AI support agent into changing account emails and bypassing 2FA, hijacking more than 20,000 Instagram accounts without ever breaching Meta’s core systems.²

In adversarial testing by STAR Labs, Straiker’s dedicated AI threat research arm, 36% of successful attacks on coding agents resulted in remote code execution, while 91% of attacks on productivity agents led to silent data exfiltration — with no malware and no stolen credentials.³

Straiker: agentic security for AI agents

Straiker’s founding team brings deep expertise at the intersection of cybersecurity and AI. CEO Ankur Shah previously scaled Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud business as SVP and GM, while CTO Sreenath Kurupati led AI and security research at Akamai following its acquisition of Cyberfend, the fraud detection company he founded.

As agents gain access to sensitive systems, organizations need to know what agents exist, what they can access, how they behave, and where risk is emerging.

Straiker’s platform delivers this through three integrated capabilities: comprehensive discovery of AI agents across enterprise environments; pre-deployment adversarial testing to surface vulnerabilities and runtime protection that monitors activity and stops threats as they happen.

A shared intelligence layer compounds this value: threats detected in production strengthen pre-deployment testing, while vulnerabilities uncovered in testing harden runtime protections. Straiker’s work with frontier AI labs gives it early visibility into emerging attack techniques, continuously sharpening detection and defense as AI systems evolve.

“Our uniqueness comes from pairing the industry’s most comprehensive agentic exploit dataset with an AI-native security engine purpose-built for autonomous threats. That foundation allows us to secure the next generation of AI-powered enterprises,” said Sreenath Kurupati, Co-Founder and CTO of Straiker.

Company traction

Since launching in 2025, Straiker has become a trusted partner to frontier AI labs and Fortune 500 enterprises, helping them securely deploy both internally built and third-party agents.

“AI agents are getting the keys to real systems and real data, which makes securing them one of the defining challenges of this era. I’m glad to work with innovative teams like Straiker that are focused on getting it right,” said Brad Jones, Chief Information Security Officer.

That traction has translated into rapid commercial growth. In less than a year, Straiker has grown run-rate revenue by more than 15x, reflecting accelerating demand for security built for autonomous systems.

“Demand is outpacing anything we forecast,” said Ankur Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Straiker. “This round goes straight into product, our STAR Labs threat research, and the global expansion our enterprise customers are pulling us toward.”

“Given their scope and autonomy, AI agents need to be treated like first-class citizens,” said Gokul Rajaram, Founding Partner at Marathon. “Enterprises need a purpose-built solution given the magnitude of the problem. Straiker will be one of the few companies that define how agents are secured.”

About Straiker
Straiker is The Agentic Security Company, delivering an agentic-native platform that discovers, tests, and protects enterprise AI agents. Learn more at straiker.ai.

Media Contact:
Shannon Van Every
[email protected]

Notes
¹ IDC, “Agentic AI to Dominate IT Budget Expansion Over Next Five Years, Exceeding 26% of Worldwide IT Spending, and $1.3 Trillion in 2029, According to IDC,” IDC Press Release, August 26, 2025. (IDC #prUS53765225)
² “High-profile Instagram AI chatbot breach spotlights security risks of automation,” Reuters, June 3, 2026.
³ Straiker STAR Labs adversarial testing, 2026. Full findings in the STAR Labs agentic threat research report (July 8, 2026). Sign up for the waitlist for the report.

SOURCE Straiker

New funding supports development of embodied AI foundation models, commercial deployments and integrated robotics infrastructure, only embodied AI company backed by all four major Chinese internet technology leaders

SHENZHEN, China, June 29, 2026 — X Square Robot, an embodied AI company developing general-purpose embodied intelligence robots and foundation models for real-world environments, today announced the closing of four consecutive financing rounds culminating in a Series C, bringing its valuation to over US$2.8 billion (RMB 20 billion) and positioning the company among China’s highest-valued embodied AI startups.

The financing brings together a diverse group of strategic and financial investors, including leading technology companies, industrial partners and venture capital firms. IDG participated in the Series C round, while HongShan and Xiaomi have backed the company in multiple previous rounds. Combined with earlier lead investments from Meituan, Alibaba, ByteDance and Xiaomi, X Square Robot has become the only embodied AI company in China to secure lead-round backing at different stages from four of the country’s leading technology companies.

“Since day one, X Square Robot has focused on in-house development of foundation models, pursuing a challenging but necessary path,” said Wang Qian, founder and CEO of X Square Robot. “Today, our investments in embodied AI models, scalable, model-driven high-quality data pipeline system and real-world deployment are beginning to deliver clear results.”

The company said it will use the funding to further invest in core technologies and foundational research in embodied intelligence, advancing toward general-purpose embodied AI that bridges the physical world and ultimately serves humanity.

Founded in 2023, X Square Robot develops end-to-end embodied AI systems that combine foundation models, robotics hardware and proprietary data pipeline system. Rather than relying on traditional rule-based automation, the company’s approach enables robots to adapt to changing environments and generalize across a wide range of tasks.

Building a Full-Stack Embodied AI System

X Square Robot is building a full-stack embodied AI system that combines foundation models, robotics hardware, proprietary model-driven high-quality data pipeline system and real-world deployment. At its core is a general-purpose embodied AI model designed to enable robots to perceive, reason and act in complex physical environments.

In April 2026, the company introduced WALL-B, an embodied AI foundation model built on its World Unified Model architecture. Unlike modular VLA approaches that connect separate vision, language and action components, WALL-B trains perception, language, action and physical prediction within a unified network, enabling stronger multimodal understanding, spatial reasoning and continual learning from real-world interactions.

The company has also open-sourced WALL-OSS-0.5 and WALL-WM, extending its unified approach to robot manipulation and world modeling. WALL-OSS-0.5 achieved over 80% autonomous completion on four of 17 real-robot tasks without post-training, while WALL-WM introduces event-level prediction by aligning language, vision and action data around meaningful events, enabling stronger cross-modal learning and physical-world prediction across reasoning, manipulation and generalization tasks.

To accelerate model development, X Square Robot has built a scalable, model-driven data pipeline spanning automated data collection, cleaning, annotation, quality control and augmentation. Combined with real-world deployment, the system enables rapid model iteration while creating high-quality datasets for complex and long-tail scenarios.

Real-World Deployments Already Underway

X Square Robot is deploying its model and hardware stack across household, industrial, and logistics scenarios. Among these, household settings represent one of the most complex and important testbeds for real-world deployment.

In this area, the company has partnered with 58.com to launch an AI-powered cleaning service in Shenzhen and Beijing, where robots work alongside human cleaners in real residential environments. Since May, X Square Robot has also launched the “X Family Member Program,” where robots live with users’ families for up to one month as household companions, responding to a broader range of everyday needs. Together, these initiatives bring embodied robots beyond staged demos and into real homes and everyday life.

The company believes these real-world deployments create a continuous feedback loop in which operational data improves model performance, helping accelerate progress toward general-purpose embodied intelligence.

“As AI moves beyond digital experiences into the physical world, progress will depend on close integration between models, data and robotics,” Wang said. “We’re building that foundation so embodied AI can become part of everyday life.”

To learn more, visit https://x2robot.com/en.

About X Square Robot

X Square Robot develops general-purpose embodied intelligence robots with high-precision manipulation capabilities. The company is building foundation models for the physical world, integrating models, robotic hardware and scalable, model-driven high-quality data pipeline system. Its robots are designed to perceive, reason and act across long-horizon tasks in home and everyday environments, research and education, logistics and warehousing, and industrial operations.

SOURCE X Square Robot