Wang Naiyan, the L3 autonomous driving lead at Xiaomi Auto, has left the company to launch a physical AI venture. He is currently meeting with investors to secure funding for his new startup, which focuses on developing robot brains and embodied AI foundation models with strong generalization capabilities.
Wang's team consists of more than 10 core researchers and engineers, including several former colleagues from TuSimple (now CreateAI). Before joining Xiaomi Auto in May 2024, Wang served as the CTO for TuSimple's China region from 2019 to 2024.
The move is part of a broader trend of autonomous driving talent migrating to robotics. Former executives from Xpeng, Li Auto, and Nio have also entered the field. For example, Li Liyun and Chen Yonghai from Xpeng have joined EngineAI Robotics, and Chen Wei from Li Auto founded Xieyue Intelligent.
Lang Xianpeng, former autonomous driving chief at Li Auto, co-founded Kunlunxing Robotics with former Huawei executive Ren Geng. Meanwhile, Nio's autonomous driving chief Ren Shaoqing is launching a physical AI venture backed by Nio as a strategic shareholder, while remaining in his role at Nio.
