MetaX and UBTech launch robot-chip startup Xilect, raise RMB 500M angel round targeting Nvidia Thor

Chinese GPU maker MetaX and humanoid robot maker UBTech jointly founded Xilect, which raised RMB 500M in an angel round announced Nov 13 at a reported RMB 4B valuation led by GGV and Matrix Partners China. Xilect is building an on-robot system-on-chip combining multimodal perception, decision-making, and motion control — a 'large-and-small-brain' processor explicitly aimed at surpassing Nvidia's Thor. First development platform targets 2027; first chip in 2028.