Kepler Robotics Company Profile: History, K2 Bumblebee, Funding and Ownership
Updated: 7 days ago
Kepler Robotics is a Shanghai company that makes the K2 Bumblebee, a humanoid robot aimed at heavy industrial work and priced at about USD 30,000. It was founded in 2023 and calls its machines blue-collar humanoid robots. This profile sets out its history, product, deployments, funding and ownership.
Kepler Robotics at a Glance
Fact | Detail |
Company | Shanghai Kepler Robot Co., Ltd. |
Founded | 2023, in Pudong, Shanghai |
Main product | K2 Bumblebee humanoid robot |
Price | About USD 30,000 for the base model |
Own components | More than 80% of core hardware made in-house |
Chief executive | Hu Debo in 2025 reports; Song Hua in a May 2026 report |
Status | Mass production of the K2 announced in September 2025 |
Company History
Kepler was founded in 2023 in the Pudong district of Shanghai. Its first robot, the Forerunner K1, was introduced in late 2023 and shown at the CES trade fair in January 2024. The K2, which the company counts as its fifth-generation design, was unveiled in October 2024.
Key milestones
2023: Founded; Forerunner K1 introduced.
January 2024: K1 shown at CES.
October 2024: Forerunner K2 unveiled.
April 2025: K2 tested at the SAIC-GM car plant in Shanghai, on quality inspection and handling of stamped parts.
May and June 2025: K2 shown at the ICRA conference in Atlanta, its first public appearance.
July 2025: An eight-hour live broadcast of the robot working at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.
September 2025: Mass production of the K2 announced.
October 2025: Open developer platform launched.
May 2026: New strategic funding and a subsidiary in Jiangyin.
The K2 Bumblebee
Feature | Detail |
Height | 175 cm |
Weight | 75 kg |
Degrees of freedom | 52 |
Payload | 15 kg per arm, 30 kg with both arms |
Hands | 11 degrees of freedom each, with force sensors in the fingers and a six-axis sensor at the wrist |
Sensors | More than 80 |
Computing | 100 TOPS |
Endurance | Up to 8 hours of work, with a one-hour charge, according to the company |
Versions | Bipedal Basic, Bipedal Developer and Wheeled Developer |
The company claims that one robot does the work of about one and a half full-time employees. This is the maker's own figure.
Earlier models
Model | Detail |
Forerunner K1 | 178 cm, 85 kg, 40 degrees of freedom, 25 kg payload |
Forerunner D1 and S1 | Variants of the K1 platform, focused on dexterity and on agility |
Deployments and Markets
Reference projects named by the company are live welding at height, inspection of automated production lines and handling of heavy material. Target markets are manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, specialized industrial work, research and education. A secondary source reports framework agreements for several thousand units; this has not been confirmed independently.
Funding and Ownership
Round | Date | Investors |
Angel or seed | 2024 | Not disclosed |
Pre-A | Early 2025 | Tao Motor, Zhaofeng and Hanwei among others |
Strategic round | May 2026 | Led by an AI investment partnership backed by investment funds of the city of Jiangyin; tens of millions of yuan |
A secondary reference site puts total funding at about USD 14.6 million and reports that in May 2026 Hangzhou Kelin Electric, an existing shareholder, agreed to raise its holding to 51%, for up to CNY 300 million. If completed, this would make Kepler a subsidiary of a listed electrical equipment company. The same site notes inconsistencies in its own funding data, so these figures should be treated with caution.
Leadership
Reports from 2025 name Hu Debo, also written Debo Hu, as founder and chief executive. A report of May 2026 names Song Hua as chief executive. The sources used do not explain the difference.
Can You Invest in Kepler Robotics?
Not directly. It is privately held.
What Is Not Covered
Sales, employee numbers and confirmed production volumes are not stated in the sources used, so they are left out.
Strengths and Challenges
Strengths
A clear focus on demanding industrial tasks.
A published price and a high share of in-house components.
Tests in a real car plant.
Challenges
Modest funding compared with leading competitors.
Unclear leadership and ownership information.
Humanoids in industry are still largely at the pilot stage.
Kepler Robotics FAQ
What does Kepler Robotics make?
The K2 Bumblebee humanoid robot for industrial work.
Where is Kepler Robotics based?
In Shanghai, with a subsidiary being set up in Jiangyin.
When was Kepler Robotics founded?
In 2023.
How much does the K2 Bumblebee cost?
About USD 30,000 for the base model.
How much can the K2 Bumblebee carry?
15 kg with one arm and 30 kg with both.
Who is the CEO of Kepler Robotics?
Sources differ: Hu Debo in 2025 reports and Song Hua in a May 2026 report.
