CloudMinds
Tried to move robot brains to the cloud: raised RMB 5.4 billion, entered liquidation in 2025
- Founded
- 2015
- Closed
- 2025
- Lifespan
- 10 years
- Total funding
- $780 million
- Peak valuation
- $3.1 billion
- Country
- China
- City
- Beijing
- Sector
- Hardware
- Founders
- Bill Huang (Huang Xiaoqing), Robert Zhang
- Investors
- SoftBank Vision Fund, Foxconn, Walden International, Keytone Ventures, Shanghai Guosheng
- At its peak
- Peak valuation above RMB 20 billion, according to 36Kr
- Cause of closure
- Ran out of cash
What did it do?
CloudMinds was a Chinese robotics company that aimed to move the computing work of robots into the cloud. It was founded in 2015 under Bill Huang, a former research executive at China Mobile. It developed cloud robots, delivery and security robots and humanoids. According to 36Kr it raised about RMB 5.4 billion in total and grew to more than 800 staff.
Why did it shut down?
In January 2020 Reuters reported that listing attempts in the US and Hong Kong had come to nothing, that the Vision Fund had turned down a request for more money, and that 175 to 225 of about 700 staff in China were being cut. The net loss for the first half of 2019 was almost USD 100 million. In May 2020 the US Commerce Department added the company to its Entity List. It raised a Series C of over RMB 1 billion in 2023, but according to 36Kr the former main office in Shanghai stood empty by March 2025, and about 200 former staff in Beijing were owed tens of millions of yuan. The court accepted the liquidation case on 10 October 2025, and by June 2026 an administrator had been appointed and claims had opened.
The story
Bill Huang founded CloudMinds in 2015 after his research role at China Mobile. The idea was to put a robot's intelligence in the cloud rather than inside the machine. Investors such as SoftBank, Foxconn and Walden came on board.
The company spread from cloud robots into delivery, security and humanoid machines. According to 36Kr its valuation peaked above RMB 20 billion and it employed more than 800 people.
The turning point came between 2019 and 2020. Reuters reported a cool reception at US roadshows, a Hong Kong attempt that went nowhere, and a refusal of new money from SoftBank's fund. Layoffs began in January 2020, and in May the US placed the company on its Entity List.
A further round of over RMB 1 billion in 2023 was not enough. By March 2025 the former main office in Shanghai was empty and former staff in Beijing were waiting for their money. The court accepted the liquidation case on 10 October 2025. Huang admitted the company had met great difficulties.
Lessons for founders
- If several product lines live only on the next round's money, every line becomes a cost when financing slows: choose your strongest line early.
- An IPO plan is not reserve cash: when the 2019 attempts in the US and Hong Kong failed, the company was left leaning on another private round.
- The day you start paying wages out of the next round, the alarm should sound: by 2025 unpaid former staff had become the public face of the cash problem.
Sources
- 36Kr report on the failure of Chinese robotics companies, including CloudMinds (36Kr, 2026-09-18)
- 36Kr report on robotics unicorn valuations and CloudMinds (36Kr, 2026-10-20)
- SoftBank-backed CloudMinds slashes workforce amid cash burn: sources (Reuters, 2020-01-24)
- CloudMinds (Wikipedia)
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