The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Kepler Robotics: 1 model, 1 deployment across 1 region, $28.0M raised. 3 sources back the record.
CategoryHumanoids
Overview
Shanghai-based humanoid robotics company (Shanghai Kepler Robot Co., Ltd.) building the Forerunner K2 "Bumblebee" — an industrial-grade bipedal humanoid with proprietary planetary roller screw actuators, 52 DoF, 15 kg per-arm payload, and 8-hour single-charge endurance. Founded in 2023 by CEO Debo Hu, Kepler targets manufacturing, logistics, and inspection applications, with confirmed deployments at a SAIC-GM automotive plant in Shanghai.
Mass production of the K2 began in September 2025 at RMB 248,000 per unit, and the company was acquired by Hangzhou Kolin Electric (51% controlling stake) in May 2026.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 1 deployment on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries A extension post-money
Key facts
Founded
Products
CEO
Base price
Controlling shareholder
2025 revenue
2025 net loss
Confirmed orders
Data & sources
Web sources
3
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Partnerships
Every company Kepler Robotics has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Hangzhou Kolin Electric1× joint
Most recent
- with Hangzhou Kolin Electricoperating
Kepler Robotics on the deployment map
View the global map1 verified deployment across 1 region, newest verified Jul 2025. Explore where Kepler Robotics's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Kepler Robotics deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Pang Jiangbo Founder & CEO, Kepler Robotsecondary-verified
Founders (1)
- Debo Hucofounderno longer at company
Former / Previously (1)
- Debo Hu CEO & Co-founder, Co-foundersecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Kepler Robotics.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Kepler Robotics1 deployment
Recent coverage
Kepler Robotics in third-party press
Kepler Robotics Unveils K2 Bumblebee at IROS 2025, Building a Global Developer Ecosystem
World's First Commercially Available Hybrid-Architecture Humanoid Robot Moves Into Mass Production: Kepler Marks the Start of a New Industrial Era
Kepler's Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' Robot Completes 8-Hour Livestream at WAIC 2025
Peers
101 peers across 1 segment. Every Kepler Robotics competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
humanoid(101)
68 companies in this segment · competitive (HHI 574.5255335898561) · leader Figure AI at 1207%
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AI2 Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AIST Humanoid Research Groupdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Acuminodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgiBotdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Total funding
- $28.0M
- Reporting period
- 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31
- Reporting basis
- private_disclosed
- Revenue disclosed
- $600000 (private_disclosed)
- Lifecycle stage
- acquired
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
1 total · 1 operating
Every company Kepler Robotics has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- with Hangzhou Kolin Electricoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1Hangzhou Kolin Electric1× joint
All 1 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Kepler Robotics x Hangzhou Kolin Electric (acquisition)withHangzhou Kolin Electricinvestment2026-05-19operating
Funding rounds (3)
Kepler Robotics’s 2 disclosed rounds, $28M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series A extension2026-04-01
$14M(reported) · $84M post
Investors: Noblelift Intelligent Equipment (strategic)
- Strategic2026-02-01
$14M(reported) · $112M post
Investors: Hangzhou Kolin Electric (lead)
- Series A2025-06-01
Investors: Zhejiang Zhaofeng (strategic), Hanwei Technology (strategic)
Timeline
Every recorded move in Kepler Robotics’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
PartnershipKepler Robotics x Hangzhou Kolin Electric (acquisition)
2026-05-19Hangzhou Kolin Electric acquired a 51% controlling stake in Kepler Robotics for up to RMB 300 million, making Kepler a consolidated subsidiary. Hangzhou Kolin is a STAR Market-listed electrical equipment company seeking to expand into robotics.
Funding roundSeries A extension funding round
2026-04-01Series A extension raising $14000000
Funding roundStrategic funding round
2026-02-01Strategic raising $14000000
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2025-06-01Series A
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 29, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJul 1, 2025
Kepler Forerunner K2 at Shanghai, China
Sources (3)
- https://humanoidroboticstechnology.com/news/shanghai-kepler-robotics-co-ltd-debuts-forerunner-k2-humanoid-robot/
- https://autonews.gasgoo.com/articles/news/breaking-a-share-listed-company-takes-controlling-stake-in-kepler-robotics-2057085204311756800
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kepler-exploration-robotics_keplerk2bumblebee-humanoidrobotics-massproduction-activity-7374759815266484224-kpTK
Common questions
What is Kepler Robotics?
What does Kepler Robotics make?
Is Kepler Robotics publicly traded?
Who competes with Kepler Robotics?
Who is the CEO of Kepler Robotics?
How can I invest in Kepler Robotics?
Where is Kepler Robotics headquartered?
How much funding has Kepler Robotics raised?
Who owns Kepler Robotics?
Where does Kepler Robotics operate robots?
How many robots has Kepler Robotics deployed?
Is Kepler Robotics a top robotics company?
Is Kepler Robotics safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Kepler Robotics.Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Kepler Robotics from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Kepler Robotics Unveils K2 Bumblebee at IROS 2025, Building a Global Developer Ecosystem
Kepler launches developer platform with full-stack openness, Nebula OS access, and Kepler Studio at IROS 2025 in Hangzhou.
World's First Commercially Available Hybrid-Architecture Humanoid Robot Moves Into Mass Production: Kepler Marks the Start of a New Industrial Era
Kepler announces mass production of K2 Bumblebee, the first commercially available hybrid-architecture humanoid robot, priced at RMB 248,000 with framework agreements for several…
Kepler's Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' Robot Completes 8-Hour Livestream at WAIC 2025
K2 Bumblebee completes industry's first 8-hour nonstop livestream by a bipedal humanoid robot at WAIC 2025 in Shanghai, demonstrating 1-hour charge, 8-hour operation endurance.
Humanoid robots handle quality checks and assembly at auto plant
Kepler Robotics deploys Forerunner K2 Bumblebee humanoid robots at the SAIC-GM automotive plant in Shanghai for quality checks and assembly tasks.
Kepler K2 'Bumblebee' Debuts at ICRA 2025, Captivating Attendees
Kepler introduces its K2 Bumblebee humanoid robot at ICRA 2025 in Atlanta, demonstrating industrial-grade capabilities with 52 DoF, 100 TOPS compute, and 15 kg per-arm payload.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/kepler-robot.md
- RSS feed: /companies/kepler-robot/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/cffbd27f-a2e2-499e-b992-79c240f03b13
- Revision history: /companies/kepler-robot/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
Video
Discover how Kepler Robotics is pushing the boundaries of AI and robotics to create the machines of tomorrow. From advanced automation to real-world application
Should robots take over high-risk jobs to protect humans? Share your thoughts in the comments. As a direct competition to Elon Musk’s Tesla Optimus, Kepler Ro
Kepler K2 “Bumblebee” demonstrates the world’s first human–robot collaborative high-altitude welding operation. In this real-world industrial scenario, K2 takes
Kepler K2 “Bumblebee” is now working on the real production line at Zhaofeng Motor: • Autonomous navigation on the factory floor • Rapid deployment with Kepler
SHANGHAI, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanghai Kepler Robotics Co., Ltd. ("Kepler Robotics") today announced the successful completion of a major gait upgrad
And if you think humanoid robots are just clumsy gimmicks, take a look at Shanghai's Kepler Robotics. Their Bumblebee model walks with straight knees, just like
Heat Index
Category contender77/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Kepler Robotics draws attention at the 35th percentile but verifies reality at the 16th percentile among humanoids. Hype Gap +18.7, 34th widest among humanoids.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 1 verified deployment. Active fundraising activity with a recent closing. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 13, 2026