Former Ideal executive teams up to start a robotics company, with investments from Ideal Automotive and Yuanjing Capital.

Another "idealist" company has emerged in the field of embodied intelligence entrepreneurship. According to multiple independent sources, Chen Wei, former AI chief scientist and head of the pedestal model at Ideal Automotive, together with Zhang Xiao, former head of the second product line at Ideal Automotive, have founded a new embodied intelligence company - Leapsmart, with Chen Wei serving as chairman and CTO, and Zhang Xiao as CEO. The company was established in February 2026, with the first round of funding jointly invested by Yuanjing Capital and Ideal Automotive, and is expected to complete business changes in the near future. An investor stated that Leapsmart will focus on the family scene in the future, developing consumer-grade embodied intelligence products for end users. It is reported that since its establishment two months ago, the company has already assembled a team of nearly 20 people, and has set up office locations in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen, currently recruiting core team members and relevant technical talent.