Co-CTO of Embodied AI Firm Luming Robot Departs After Under 280 Days
By ZhiKer.
This article is republished with authorization from TMTpost.
TMTpost has learned that Ding Yan, co-CTO of Luming Robot, an embodied intelligence company, has recently resigned. His team collaboration software shows 'paused.'
Ding joined Luming on November 2, 2025, and left after less than 280 days. His social media on Xiaohongshu shows that he worked at Luming from 2025 to 2026 and will next move to Zuquan Research Institute at Fudan University.
Ding is one of the earliest and most influential researchers in China's UMI (Unified Manipulation Interface) field. He graduated from the State University of New York and conducted robotics research at Ford and Meta.
After returning to China in 2024, he underwent three major career shifts in over a year.
His career path is a microcosm of talent flow in the embodied AI sector. He first joined Shanghai AI Laboratory as a distinguished young researcher, focusing on VLA models and robot learning algorithms. In June 2025, he joined Yixing Robot, initiated by Li Xingxing of Geely, as co-founder and VP of Technology (later CTO). However, just four months later, Geely's strategic contraction led to the unexpected dissolution of the company, which had been founded less than six months earlier. Ding then registered a company for independent entrepreneurship but abandoned it before investors made payments. After 33 days, on November 2, 2025, he joined Luming Robot with over ten core members.
Luming Robot stated that the company is anchored on its industrial embodied strategy, with R&D, products, and commercialization progressing steadily and a stable core team. Founded in September 2024, Luming Robot is led by CEO Yu Chao, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Tsinghua University and has 10 years of experience in embodied intelligent robots. He previously led the construction of the world's first end-to-end data-driven bipedal humanoid robot R&D system and participated in the full process of Xiaomi Cyberdog from R&D to mass production. Cao Junliang, a PhD from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has long been dedicated to robot hardware R&D with ten years of technical accumulation. Currently, Luming's R&D team is stable, with over 70% R&D staff and more than ten PhDs covering robot body, intelligent algorithms, and other technical areas. Luming Robot thanked Ding for his contributions to the company's technical exploration, product development, and team building during his tenure.
In terms of financing, Luming completed three rounds from Angel++ to Pre-A2 in 2025 and A1/A2 rounds in 2026, raising nearly 1 billion yuan in total. The A1 round was led by Mitsubishi Electric, with four listed companies as industrial shareholders. Its products include the LUS humanoid robot, MOS heavy-duty robot, and the mini bipedal 'Lu Xiaoming' robot. It has established deep cooperation with Mitsubishi Electric and COSCO Shipping and appeared multiple times on the 2026 Spring Festival Gala.
Looking at the industry, Ding's resignation is just a ripple in the 2026 wave of executive departures in embodied AI. In March, Qianxun Intelligence's algorithm head Xie Junyuan left; Xinghai Tu's co-founder Xu Huazhe left to start a business; Magic Atom founder Wu Changzheng resigned in April; and Unitree Power's co-founder Zhang Li left about the same time. The technical routes in the embodied industry have not converged, and business models are still being explored, making it common for people to part ways due to different directions. The rapid flow of core talent shows the industry is vibrant, but for any specific company, it is a risk. (This article was first published on TMTpost APP, text by ZhiKer, author Guo Hongyun, editor Yang Lin. For more, follow TMTpost WeChat ID: taimeiti or download the TMTpost App.)