Simate
Shanghai physical-AI startup from a former Horizon Robotics lead, backed by Xiaomi and Baidu
Official website: mate-robot.cn
Startup · No humanoid status · Robot foundation model · Shanghai, China · Founded 2026
- Customers · not disclosed
- Funding · amount reported in a range, not confirmed by the company
- Valuation · not disclosed
- Headcount · not published
Profile
Simate (Chinese name Chuguang Leap) is a Shanghai startup building AI for robots. The company describes three parts: Sinfra, a platform that takes a robot task from simulation to deployment; Sipai, a robot model; and RoboScientist, an AI scientist that turns experiments into findings. The platform is in development and RoboScientist is a research preview. Founder and CEO Zhang Ying previously led end-to-end driving technology at Horizon Robotics, according to Chinese press. Founded in May 2026, it was reported in October 2026 to have closed a seed round of hundreds of millions of RMB from investors including Chentao Capital, Xiaomi and BV Baidu Ventures. The company has not published the amount.
Notes Limited data: Few public sources back this. Check the cited sources. Reported Low-confidence record. Founded in May 2026, according to Chinese press. The seed amount comes from press reports only. Reported business registry changes show Xiaomi and Baidu investment arms joining as shareholders. The company's website does not mention the round.
Leadership
- Zhang Ying, Founder & CEO
- Zhan Fangneng, Chief Scientist
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Flagship products
- Sinfra Software
Platform for taking robot tasks from simulation to deployment; in development - Sipai AI model
Robot model that learns how to act in the physical world; under public evaluation on the RoboDojo benchmark - RoboScientist Software
AI scientist that turns robot experiments into findings; research preview
Funding and valuation
Latest round
Limited data: Few public sources back this. Check the cited sources. Reported
Seed · Oct 16, 2026
With Chentao Capital, Xiaomi, BV Baidu Ventures, Xinhe Capital.
Reported as 'hundreds of millions of RMB'; the company has not published the amount, so no USD figure is shown. One report describes it as the combined total from several investors.
Trademarks
No US filings since 2025 (last checked ). It may file under a Chinese legal name we don’t match yet.
Source: USPTO Trademark Search, matched on the company’s legal names. Rechecked on the 1st and 15th of each month. A filing shows intent to use a name in the US, not a launched product.
Recent news
- — Reported to have closed a seed round of 'hundreds of millions of RMB' with investors including Chentao Capital, Xiaomi and BV Baidu Ventures OFweek Reported
Sources
- 小米、百度押注前地平线“端到端战神”！「初光跃迁」完成数亿元种子轮融资 (Xiaomi and Baidu back ex-Horizon end-to-end lead: Simate completes seed round of hundreds of millions of RMB; OFweek) (Oct 16, 2026)
- 小米、百度同时押注一家成立5个月的公司：这次赌“机器人自进化” (Xiaomi and Baidu both back a five-month-old company; Gasgoo) (Oct 16, 2026)
- 初光跃迁种子轮融资数亿元，创始人带过三代地平线端到端方案 (Simate seed round of hundreds of millions of RMB; Robrief) (Oct 16, 2026)
- Simate company website (Nov 3, 2026)
Confidence: low.