Former ByteDance robotics head reportedly joins Xiaomi

Former ByteDance robotics team head Kong Tao has reportedly joined Xiaomi, where he now leads a team developing foundation models for robots. Several people familiar with the matter said Kong joined Xiaomi in 2025 and brought a number of former ByteDance colleagues with him. Xiaomi’s robotics division is said to have about 200 employees, while the foundation-model team operates separately within the company’s robotics business. Xiaomi has already released its Xiaomi-Robotics-1 foundation model and is testing humanoid robots in manufacturing environments. [IT Home, in Chinese] Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry.

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