NetEase (网易, Nasdaq: NTES), an Internet titan, incorporated two subsidiaries with a focus on robotics on July 4, business registration information portal qcc.com reported today.
The two subsidiaries, NetEase Xuan Zhiyuan Smart Technology Co. Ltd and NetEase Qianbo Smart Technology Co. Ltd, are headed by Zhou Feng and Yang Xinwei, two senior executives of the parent company.
These two affiliates have a reported capital of 5 million yuan (US$691,500) and 1 million yuan respectively, with their business scopes consisting of the R&D of intelligent robots and AI software.
Information from qcc.com shows that the two firms are wholly owned subsidiaries of NetEase, one of China’s online gaming and entertainment giants.
With the establishment of these two ventures, the Hangzhou-based powerhouse has joined a number of internet heavyweights in launching their own robotic arms.
The most notable and recent example is ByteDance (字节跳动), which is said to set its sights on doubling the size of its team of robotic engineers to more than 100 by the end of this year.
In effect, NetEase had ventured into robotics years ago, with a PaaS (platform-as-a-service) product released by NetEase Fuxi (网易伏羲), which was founded in 2017. It assists users in tasks such as modeling and helps publish and manage work through robotic processes automation.
Fuxi is one of China’s first corporate research institute devoted to R&D and application of game- and entertainment-focused AI technologies.
The firm has also accumulated rich experience in such areas as digital twin, reinforced learning, user profile, natural language processing.
Additionally, it also seeks to apply its know-how in the virtual tech world to physical segments including smart manufacturing, engineering machinery and service industry.
