RobStride Dynamics, founded in November 2023, is carving out a niche in integrated joint modules. In less than two years, it has supplied nearly half of embodied intelligence companies in China.
The company is led by Wang Bo, an automation graduate of Harbin Institute of Technology. With more than a decade of experience in joint motor systems, Wang previously headed Xiaomi’s robotics joint team and served as chief architect of its joint division.
COO Shao Yuanxin studied electronic engineering and management at King’s College London. His career spans international smartphone expansion and mass production of bionic robots. At Xiaomi, he led quadruped robotics and joint projects.
Many of RobStride’s senior managers in hardware, software, and quality assurance come from Xiaomi, Roborock, and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. They bring experience from both consumer electronics and industrial manufacturing.
The company has raised two consecutive funding rounds totaling an eight-figure RMB sum. Its pre-Series A round was led by HongShan’s seed fund, with Highlight Capital and Xinniu Capital participating. Existing investors Innoangel Fund and Yiwei Capital increased their stakes. Highlight Capital exclusively backed the pre-Series A+ round, while Lingxiao Capital serves as RobStride’s long-term financial advisor.
RobStride’s joint module portfolio includes its flagship RobStride series and the upcoming developer-focused EduLite line. Unlike many peers, the company prioritizes standardized shipments over customized orders. This enables rapid iteration; firmware updates are released weekly, while new hardware versions arrive quarterly.
The RobStride flagship range covers a torque capacity of 1.5 to 120 newton-meters. EduLite, expected later this year, will feature open-source hardware for developer communities. Since launch, the company has introduced seven mass produced modules and plans to release three to four more in the second half of 2025.
RobStride highlights three advantages: reliability, consistency, and ecosystem. Its flagship products use alloy steel and aluminum die-cast housings, with gears strengthened through post-processed die casting. All modules are built on the firm’s self-developed architecture which prioritizes iteration speed, reliability, and production yields.
The company sees long-term promise in embodied intelligence but warns of volatility in the coming year. The main challenge is the “brain” paradigm, which still requires large-scale data collection and validation. While some companies have secured industrial orders, procurement, operations, and after-sales costs remain obstacles. Technical progress alone, it cautions, will not ensure adoption.
To reduce exposure to market swings, RobStride is expanding into other industries to stabilize cash flow. Embodied intelligence now accounts for 30–40% of its revenue, with the rest coming from sectors such as electric vehicles, pool cleaning robots, and industrial automation. Its standardized modules also make it easier to enter overseas markets, where it has pursued expansion from the start.
The company believes Chinese joint module makers hold strong global advantages and sees internationalization as a defining part of its strategy.
EduLite is positioned as a lower-cost alternative that makes robotics development more accessible to individual engineers. As an open-source project, it will cost about half as much as RobStride’s flagship line while offering comparable performance.
The series supports 3D printing for all structural components, with consumables easily sourced online. With a PC, a 3D printer, and RobStride’s modules, developers can build robots or test environments for artificial intelligence hardware.
To keep costs low, EduLite uses different gear and casing materials, as well as processes such as powder metallurgy and engineering plastics. While not intended for heavy-duty or long-term industrial use, it is aimed at educational, experimental, and personal projects. Nearly 30% of RobStride’s revenue already comes from retail sales to developers, whose self-made creations range from humanoid robots and robotic arms to simulators with advanced control algorithms.
Globally, an estimated six million hardware developers could be potential EduLite users.
RobStride is cultivating an engineer-centered ecosystem modeled in part on Nvidia’s approach. From the outset, it has engaged with developer communities on GitHub and Hugging Face, fielding technical questions and offering support. It has also incubated projects led by young entrepreneurs, providing both products and mentorship.
This approach yields two advantages. Engineers provide feedback that helps shape product development, and early adopters who use RobStride’s modules in school or hobby projects may adopt them again when scaling into commercial deployments.
Younger developers also keep the company aligned with emerging technologies. For example, reinforcement learning was considered mainly a simulation tool in 2019 but became central to robotics training by 2024. Feedback from this new generation of researchers helped reinforce that shift and influenced RobStride’s product roadmap. EduLite is designed to strengthen this cycle, linking aspiring developers with frontier technologies while channeling insights back into the company.
RobStride measures performance by response time, sustained peak torque, post-thermal efficiency, and power-to-torque density. Yet it emphasizes that reliability and consistency matter more. Robots often rely on more than 20 joints, which must operate seamlessly in sync. Consistency also means that mass produced units perform as reliably as prototypes. These qualities, achieved through systematic testing and manufacturing, form part of the company’s long-term assets.
RobStride’s view is that costs are designed, not managed. Structural design and material processes are optimized to eliminate redundancies and reduce inherent costs. The company also stresses that supply chain partners must earn fair margins, warning that squeezing vendors for short-term savings undermines both quality and delivery.
Like other joint module makers, RobStride faces the challenge of customer acquisition. With the market still small, sustainability depends on applications in adjacent industries. Over time, leading robotics companies may build their own joint modules, while AI-focused firms will rely on external suppliers with proven reliability and consistency.
For now, RobStride believes its strength lies in engineering execution. But as technical gaps narrow, its next test will be to establish technological leadership through stronger materials, innovative designs, and a robust developer ecosystem. Together, these may form a competitive moat that is harder to replicate.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Fu Chong for 36Kr.