Huawei accelerates in physical AI: Habo invests heavily in startup GigaAI
Huawei has made a significant strategic move in the realm of physical artificial intelligence (Physical AI). Its investment branch, Huawei Habo, has participated in the funding of GigaAI, a young Chinese startup specializing in world models applicable to the real world.
This move marks a crucial step in Huawei’s strategy to establish itself in robotics, autonomous vehicles, and next-generation intelligent systems.
A funding round that confirms industry interest
GigaAI completed its Series A1 funding round in early November, raising several hundred million yuan, co-led by Huawei Habo Investment and Huakong Fund. This round comes just two months after GigaVision—its sister company within the Giga ecosystem—secured several hundred million in pre-Series A funding.
This swift financial momentum indicates that investors have strong faith in GigaAI’s technology and vision.
GigaAI, a Chinese pioneer in world models applied to the real world
Founded in 2023, GigaAI positions itself as the first Chinese startup dedicated to world models for physical AI. Its goal: to create general intelligence capable of understanding, predicting, and interacting with the physical world, similar to the robots and autonomous vehicles of the future.
The company is developing a comprehensive ecosystem that combines hardware and software:
- GigaWorld, a platform for embedded intelligence and robotics.
- GigaBrain, a foundational model powered by world models.
- Maker Ontology, a knowledge layer dedicated to physical agents.
By integrating these components, GigaAI offers an all-in-one solution for complex environments: autonomous driving, service robotics, industrial robots, embodied agents, and more.
Why is Huawei heavily investing in physical AI?
Huawei is now adopting a strategy called WA—“World Action,” which departs from traditional VLA (Vision–Language–Action) models based on large language models. Here, AI no longer “goes through language” to act; it uses visual and physical signals directly to control robots or vehicles.
This approach, endorsed by Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solutions, is becoming a cornerstone of the company’s technological future.
By investing in GigaAI, Huawei bolsters its ability to develop safer autonomous cars, more versatile robots, and AI systems capable of interacting with the real world.
What impact will this have on the general public?
If Huawei and GigaAI succeed in their ambitions, users could soon enjoy more reliable autonomous vehicles, truly useful and intelligent home robots, personal assistants that can operate in the physical world, and devices that understand their environment rather than just waiting for text instructions.
Analysts compare this shift to a similar revolution brought about by the advent of smartphones: a technology moving from laboratories to transform our daily lives.
A move that intensifies the China-U.S. technological rivalry
This investment also serves as a geopolitical signal. China is accelerating in embodied AI, a field where the United States currently concentrates a significant amount of talent and startups (Boston Dynamics, Tesla Robotics, OpenAI with its world models, Nvidia GR00T, etc.).
By supporting GigaAI, Huawei strengthens its technological independence, increases pressure on American players, and positions itself in the global race for intelligent robots and autonomous systems.
A strategic alliance to shape the AI of the future
For experts, this partnership goes far beyond financial considerations: it represents a structured technological alliance that could accelerate the development of physical AI in China.
With its robust technology stack, rapid funding rounds, and support from a giant like Huawei, GigaAI could emerge as a global leader in embodied AI.
