Robot-rental startup Qingtianzu (擎天租) raises 100 million yuan in rapid angel rounds, backed by entertainment capital

Funding round and claims

It has been reported that Qingtianzu (擎天租), which bills itself as the world's first robot-rental platform, has completed both an angel round and an "angel+" round, bringing cumulative financing to the 100 million yuan level. The financing announcement follows a rapid launch cycle: the platform went live in December and, reportedly, has already completed a third round of financings within three months after a seed round closed in mid-January.

Traction and operations

According to the company, platform orders have exceeded 5,500, and the fleet of deployable devices tops 3,000 robots, while more than 20,000 people have signed up as city partners — figures that, if sustained, indicate fast early adoption in China’s on-demand robotics market. Qingtianzu CEO Li Yiyan (李一言) said the company will operate as an “open, inclusive, neutral” third‑party platform aimed at linking upstream asset supply with downstream delivery and scene deployment — core pain points for businesses trialing robotics at scale.

Investors and crossover interest

Lead investors on the round reportedly include Dayang Motor (大洋电机), Muhua Kechuang (慕华科创) and Minzhuo Electromechanical (敏卓机电), with follow‑on participation from Yuehua Entertainment (乐华娱乐) — whose CEO is Du Hua (杜华) — Mingjia Capital (明嘉资本), and several other investment firms. Mingjia Capital is known to have been founded by actor Huang Xiaoming (黄晓明), highlighting a notable crossover: entertainment and celebrity‑linked capital moving into hardware and logistics playbooks. Why would entertainment players back robotics? One answer is simple: diversified content and event ecosystems increasingly rely on scalable, on‑demand robotics solutions for staging, promotion and experiential marketing.

Context and caveats

The company’s “world’s first” claim and the operational metrics are reported by the platform and media outlets; independent verification was not provided in the announcement. The deal comes as China’s tech funding landscape continues to recalibrate under regulatory scrutiny and macroeconomic pressures, prompting startups to seek novel investor mixes and faster paths to commercial scale. The original report is posted on Phoenix New Media’s platform, which carries a user‑upload disclaimer stating the site provides information storage only.