At the "Physical AI and Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Ecosystem Exchange" event, held in Beijing on September 11, 2026, as part of the China International Fair for Trade in Services, Li Xiangyu shared his insights. As the co-founder and CEO of Beijing Keanke Intelligent Technology, as well as a doctoral supervisor at Tianjin University, he participated in a roundtable discussion focused on investment hotspots and commercialization breakthroughs in the embodied intelligence robot sector.

Li began by outlining his deep involvement in the industry, noting his experience spans investment, academia, and entrepreneurship. "I am a deep participant in the embodied intelligence industry, covering industry, academia, and research," he said. While he is an investor in the tech sector and holds teaching and research roles, he has also co-founded an embodied intelligence company. He highlighted that Beijing Keanke is a domestic leader in the niche field of industrial park and property service robots. "We focus on inspection, security, and cleaning for industrial parks and properties, and we have achieved a leading position nationally in this segment."

Reflecting on the day's presentations, Li mentioned he learned a great deal from the various expert reports. He acknowledged that while his company's products may not be as eye-catching as humanoid robots, they offer clients more practical solutions that significantly reduce labor costs and improve service quality. "Our products are more grounded and solve many real-world problems for property management companies," he explained.

Li then traced his personal journey into the embodied intelligence field, offering a multi-dimensional perspective from his experience in technology, investment, and market. He started in the communications industry about a decade ago, moving from vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology to autonomous driving, then to related chips, algorithms, and eventually AI large models. "This is roughly the path I took to get involved in the embodied intelligence sector."

From his perspective, embodied intelligence technology is a sunrise industry with significant room for growth. He stressed that a product's success is defined by its ability to meet customer needs, regardless of its age. "The final definition of success for any product or technology is commercial success," Li stated. His core objective is to achieve commercial success and close the loop between development and revenue. He summarized his company's approach as "pragmatic technology, real-world application, and a closed commercial loop."

Addressing how investors have handled new trends, Li admitted that his previous investment focus was primarily on hardware, particularly in semiconductors and chips. Consequently, emerging fields like humanoid robotics, including companies like Unitree and UBTech Robotics, were not his main consideration. He noted that by the time his team looked at these companies in 2022 and 2023, they had already become expensive from an investment standpoint, making it difficult to enter at a favorable valuation. "Answering your question, we missed the opportunity due to our lack of experience in this area."

Sharing his thoughts on industry players, Li said he had mixed feelings when listening to discussions about UBTech's product direction. From an investment perspective, he believes it may be tough to profit in the short term. However, looking at future trends, he finds it positive that well-funded companies are pursuing such ventures. He quoted Xiaomi's Lei Jun: "There is always an opportunity for latecomers."

Since its founding in 2021, Beijing Keanke has aimed for a balanced approach across product, capital, and market. Li noted that while a successful CEO is often described as a "hexagonal warrior," a good company needs at least a balanced "triangle" of these elements. He observed that few companies in the robotics industry currently possess this triangular balance. He described two common types of companies in this new field: those that cannot raise funds and struggle to develop, and those that raise substantial capital but become detached from real customer needs. Li positioned his company as being in a relatively balanced state, having already achieved positive cash flow. "We are more focused on customers and the market."

Li explained that the company focuses on the general services industry, especially property management. By providing clients with AI and robot-driven intelligent upgrade solutions, Keanke helps reduce customers' ROI by over 10%. This high practicality, strong product competitiveness, and a robust customer service mindset allow them to achieve deeper integration in real-world applications than many peers. "Just like running a marathon, it’s crowded at the start, but once you truly find your pace, the track opens up."

Currently, Li does not see strong competition because the company is concentrating on what it does best and what customers are willing to pay for. "In one sentence, we are commercializing by staying laser-focused on customer needs, and we have achieved results," he affirmed. He concluded with optimism: "Looking forward to new breakthroughs in the industry next year, and we will certainly make more money."