36Kr learned that Ropet, an AI pet robot company, recently completed tens of millions of RMB in Series A1 financing. This round of financing was led by the Beijing Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, with Fengrui Capital participating as a follow – on investor. Index Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor.
Founded in 2022 and incubated and invested by Zhenzhi Venture Capital, Ropet is committed to creating the world’s leading AI emotional companion pet robot products.
Co – founders Mr. He Jiabin and Dr. Zhou Yushu have more than a decade of rich experience in Internet products and human – computer interaction. The core members come from top technology and consumer brands such as ByteDance, Microsoft, Alibaba DAMO Academy, Xiaomi, and NIO, and have the ability to launch and scale products from scratch in areas such as product design, AI technology, brand, and operations.
Among them, co – founder and CEO He Jiabin has previously worked at Microsoft Research Asia, Baidu, Wuling Technology, and ByteDance, and was the product lead for the children’s picture – book robot Luka.
Co – founder Dr. Zhou Yushu graduated from Stanford University, focusing on human – computer interaction and cognitive psychology research. He has rich experience in product strategy and user insight and has participated in and led the establishment of several Internet companies.
Ropet products Source: Company authorization
In December 2024, Ropet’s first – generation desktop pet robot « kamomo » was launched on the US crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and was well – received by North American supporters. It raised a total of $400,000 in crowdfunding and was selected as one of the best AI consumer hardware products of the year.
In January this year, Ropet made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and became a highlight of the exhibition with its « cute appearance + surprising interaction ». In August this year, Ropet was launched on Makuake, Japan’s largest crowdfunding platform, and exceeded 27 million yen in an hour.
Ropet targets young users and builds technical modules around biological mechanisms and multimodal perception, holding more than 40 technical patents. The three core values of its products are:
1. Sense of life: Translucent « eyes », emotional expressions, and voice feedback convey a perceptible « presence »;
2. Low – key interaction: Establish a light – but – continuous companionship relationship without disturbing the user;
3. Customizability: The appearance and content are highly customizable, supporting personalized design of eyes, voice, fur, and masks.
At the hardware level, Ropet senses the environment and user touch through visual/auditory sensors and a responsive tactile system; at the algorithm level, it infers the user’s emotions based on an AI emotion engine and provides corresponding feedback, transforming « companionship » from a function to an emotion.
Ropet has also developed a « pet – raising system »: Ropet continuously learns based on the user’s daily interaction data and gradually forms a differentiated personality and interaction mode. Users not only « take care » of its loneliness, illness, hunger, and unease but also gain emotional value and « tender moments » in the daily interaction.
He Jiabin, CEO of Ropet, said, « We hope to build a slow – paced company, soften AI and technology, pay attention to people’s vulnerable moments, and activate people’s ability to love through technology and design. »
Text | Wang Fangyu
Editor | Su Jianxun
Source : https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/3453968750024073
