Zhigu Tianchu raises nearly RMB 100 million as commercial cooking robots enter the monetization phase
创业邦 · wechat · 2026-07-28
Smart-cooking robot maker Zhigu Tianchu raises nearly RMB 100 million in new strategic funding
Zhigu Tianchu said on July 27 that it closed a new strategic round of nearly RMB 100 million, led by CMI Capital with participation from Yueqian Capital, while existing investors such as Cloudy Bay Capital and Qifu Capital added more capital. The company says it is one of the few cooking-robot vendors in the sector with revenue above RMB 100 million and already profitable.
Why it stands out
- Founded in 2018 in Shenzhen, the company has spent years building engineering depth rather than chasing fast scale.
- It sells a hardware + AI digital dish model stack, combining cooking robots with cloud-based recipe and workflow software.
- The system reportedly supports 2,000+ Chinese dishes and feeds back millions of structured cooking data points per day to improve the model.
- Core products cover small, medium and large commercial kitchens, with use cases in chain restaurants, cafeterias, schools, enterprise dining and overseas markets.
- The company claims a single order worth RMB 150 million and expects 2026 orders to exceed RMB 300 million, with revenue growth of 300% versus 2025.
Industry context
The article frames smart cooking robots as moving from technical validation into commercial payoff. It cites a 2025 commercial AI cooking-robot market size of RMB 7.72 billion, projected to reach RMB 13.12 billion in 2026.
It also compares rivals:
- Youte Zhichu: patent-heavy, with 1,000+ patents; Boss Electric reportedly planned a RMB 100 million strategic investment.
- Xianglu Robot: different technical route, with 300+ patents and a RMB 300 million Series B in 2026.
- Bunong Technology: positioned as an AI digital kitchen provider, claiming deployments in 29 countries and regions.
The broader thesis is that cooking robots may solve the tension between standardized quality, labor costs and the “fresh-cooked” demand in Chinese catering.
Related event: Cooking Robot Maker Zhigutianchu Raises Nearly 100 Million Yuan(3 posts)→
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