Chinese Startup LinkerBot Seeks $6 Billion Valuation for Robotic Hands

LinkerBot, a Chinese startup founded in 2023, makes five-fingered robotic hands with at least 11 joints that sell for as little as $600. The hands can play piano, thread needles, tighten screws, and assemble electronics. The company shipped 10,000 units last year, which it says represented 80 percent of worldwide demand.

Clients include research labs, manufacturers, and other humanoid robot makers.

LinkerBot completed six funding rounds in 13 months from investors including the Chinese government, Alibaba’s Ant Group, HongShan Capital, and Sequoia Capital’s Chinese spinoff. It is now seeking another round at a $6 billion valuation, double its prior valuation from a few months earlier. The company is reportedly exploring a public listing in Hong Kong.

Founder and chief technology officer Zhou Yong said the hands address the majority of engineering difficulty in humanoid robots. He predicts the price will fall to $200 within three to five years. LinkerBot uses its own hands on its assembly lines to demonstrate industrial applications. It offers international buyers up to one year to exchange products.

Zhou described three stages for humanoid robot deployment: entertainment roles, narrowly defined jobs such as cooking and sorting packages, and complex home environments. He said robots will eventually become 100 times more capable than humans and replace human labor.

Zhou stated that people will not care about unemployment if they receive relief payments or welfare benefits, and that AI and robots will make goods and services abundant enough that work will no longer be necessary.