In the 0.2 seconds it took Zhao Tongyang to be kicked flying by the humanoid robot T800 developed by his own company, a flash of fear—and even more so, surprise—crossed his mind as he fell toward the ground.

In December this year, a video released by Zhongqing Robot, featuring the founder and CEO "personally testing" the product's performance, went viral online. In the clip, the T800 humanoid robot, standing 1.73 meters tall and weighing 75 kilograms, delivered a powerful kick that sent Zhao Tongyang, clad in thick protective gear, flying through the air.

"My reaction time was only 0.2 seconds; my first feeling was fear, real terror," Zhao Tongyang recalled. "My entire body was thrown back involuntarily."

Appearing as a representative technological innovation enterprise at the Shenzhen Venture Capital 25th Anniversary Conference hosted by the Shenzhen Venture Capital Association, Zhao explained in an exclusive interview that following the "kick," immense surprise quickly set in. "If it had been a weak, soft kick, I would have been very disappointed. The fact that it was so powerful actually made me quite happy," he said.

This dramatic kick broke through on social media, becoming a vivid footnote for the capabilities of embodied AI robotics.

More worthy of exploration, however, is the story beyond the camera lens: a serial entrepreneur persevering quietly in an industry that was "unfavorable for seven out of the past ten years," ultimately using this forceful kick to burst open the door to a new era.

Zhongqing Robot was established in October 2023, making it barely two years old. In reality, however, Zhao Tongyang is a veteran entrepreneur who has been toiling silently on this track for a full decade.

"These ten years weren't really a walk; you could say I crawled the whole way," Zhao described when reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey.

Between 2016 and 2018, Zhao founded two robotics companies, both of which ultimately failed due to funding shortages. In 2019, he started his third robotics company, gaining initial recognition in the industry with the first-generation robot dog, Dogotix. The following year, the company was acquired by He Xiaopeng, and Zhao co-founded PXing AI with him.

However, due to strategic differences regarding the business direction, the two parted ways in 2023. XPeng Motors bought out all shares of PXing AI, renaming it XPeng Robotics. Subsequently, Zhao registered and established Shenzhen Zhongqing Robot Technology Co., Ltd.

In Zhao's recollection, the humanoid robotics sector was viewed unfavorably by the industry for seven of the past ten years. Most of that time was spent persevering through obscurity and gritting his teeth. When asked to detail the "darkest moments," he found it difficult to list them all, simply because there were "far too many."

During the most difficult period, he set aside only 200,000 yuan to cover one year's school fees for his two children. "If I didn't succeed soon, there would be no means to pay the fees for the following year." Recounting this period, his voice still carries emotion.

What kept him going were answers to several fundamental questions: Is this industry worth dedicating a lifetime to? Is one willing to devote their life to this industry? Does one believe this industry represents the next industrial revolution? "If the answers from the heart are resolute, then these ten years can be endured," Zhao stated.

This experience of fighting with his back against the wall on the brink of survival has, within the Shenzhen venture capital circle, become a kind of hidden asset.

Liu Zhou, Chairman of Fortune Capital, has explicitly expressed this preference for "those who have failed before"—"When we invest, we quite like backing serial entrepreneurs, especially those who have failed previously." This preference is based on a simple logic: "After failing and starting again, they know where the pitfalls they previously stepped into are and how to avoid them."

Today, Fortune Capital has participated in two rounds of investment in Zhongqing Robot. Zhao noted that beyond the significant financial commitment, even more valuable was the "unrestricted" trust and resource support spanning areas like chips, semiconductors, and new energy batteries.

This tolerance and trust towards "those who fight again after failure" constitute a unique competitive strength of Shenzhen's venture capital ecosystem. As a forefront of reform and opening-up, Shenzhen acknowledges the long-term nature and high failure rate of hard tech entrepreneurship, and capital is willing to provide second and third chances to entrepreneurs who have endured setbacks but remain determined.

"When Zhongqing was still very small, so small it was almost negligible, they could see our seed potential within the soil," Zhao said, reflecting on his interactions with Fortune Capital. "The fact that they could see and believe in us when many others did not was something that truly surprised me."

And after receiving that kick from the T800, Zhao knew it validated not just the machine's power, but also served as an echo of his decade-long perseverance.

Returning to the industry itself, the humanoid robotics field is rife with contradictions. On one hand, capital enthusiasm is unprecedented, with any development attracting attention; on the other, a vast chasm exists between technological capabilities and market expectations. "People have very high expectations—they want it to do this, and that, and also something else," Zhao admitted. "Such a product is the most difficult to design and satisfy."

From a technological development roadmap perspective, Zhongqing decomposes robot capabilities into two main directions: physical prowess and intelligence. Amid the wave of large AI models sweeping across everything, Zhongqing's choice appears somewhat "counter-trend": prioritize physical prowess first. Zhao believes that "when a robot's physical capabilities are insufficient, there's no place to house an intelligent soul."

Consequently, the company first concentrated efforts on perfecting physical capabilities to the extreme. Taking Zhongqing's newly released T800 as an example—standing 173 cm tall and weighing 75 kg—it was designed from the outset with the goal of surpassing the physical strength of 95% of men.

Hence, the viral video of the "founder being kicked flying." That kick, delivering a peak torque of 450 N·m and an instantaneous power of 14,000 W comparable to a sports car engine, sent Zhao heavily to the ground, becoming the most potent proof against skepticism labeling robots as merely having "flashy but impractical skills." "If anyone doubts this is just for show, let them take a hit, without protective gear—their chest would probably be full of fractures," Zhao remarked half-jokingly.

This powerful mobility forms the foundation for all subsequent applications. "With this kind of agility, explosive power, and load-bearing capacity, accomplishing many more complex tasks becomes a natural progression," Zhao described it as "attacking from a higher dimension."

With a robust physical platform ready, the next step is infusing it with intelligent capabilities. Zhao revealed that the company is currently conducting a global recruitment drive for its embodied AI team, aiming for around 30 to 40 people. The humanoid robot product is expected to learn to perform more delicate tasks within six months, including laundry and complex household chores, before moving on to more substantial work.

The idea of having a robotic "double" that can work and clean for oneself exists in almost everyone's vision of the future. In 2025, the widespread application of humanoid robots stands at the starting line.

Zhao has a clear profile of his robot's capabilities: "Its legs are quite nimble, its arms are capable—at least it can handle errand-running tasks. Integrate a large model, and its interactive ability isn't inferior to a human's."

Being able to run errands and interact effectively forms the cornerstone for creating value in specific scenarios.

Patrolling and guarding in harsh environments, high-risk fire rescue operations, 24/7 factory inspections—these "dirty, difficult, and demanding" jobs are the scenarios Zhao believes will see the earliest explosion of demand for humanoid robots. "For instance, when it's dozens of degrees below zero in a Beijing winter, who wouldn't feel for someone patrolling or standing guard outdoors? Robots have exceptionally long endurance and are unfazed by wind and snow."

He disclosed that the company has recently received意向 orders for 3,000 to 4,000 units for similar scenarios. "This isn't even a lot; 2026 will be even more 'terrifying'," he admitted. Orders are no longer his primary concern; the current focus is on expanding the team and manufacturing capacity to meet the anticipated large-scale surge.

From a decade of "crawling" in obscurity to the eve of an order explosion, the entrepreneur who once faced the prospect of "having no means to pay his children's school fees the next year" is now wholly focused on managing the sweet烦恼 of production capacity.