Former Xiaomi AI Lead Chen Long Co-Founds Self-Evolving Embodied AI Startup in Silicon Valley
Chen Long, former head of Xiaomi's autonomous driving foundation model and XLA large model team, has moved to Silicon Valley to co-found a startup focused on embodied AI. He is partnering with a former Google DeepMind scientist to develop a "self-evolving" embodied brain using Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI) technology. The venture has secured funding and initiated commercial partnerships. Chen discussed his departure with Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, who expressed support. Xiaomi has brought in executives from Horizon Robotics to replace Chen and former L3 head Wang Naiyan.
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Former Xiaomi AI Lead Chen Long Founds Silicon Valley Startup for Self-Evolving Embodied AI
Former Xiaomi smart driving and XLA large model lead Chen Long has moved to Silicon Valley to co-found a startup focused on developing a 'self-evolving' embodied brain for robots, according to multiple independent sources. The project has secured funding and begun commercial partnerships. Chen, who was personally interviewed by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, aims to differentiate his work from other embodied AI companies by using Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI) technology, which allows AI to design its own successor, rather than simply scaling data. An investor noted that Chen is not planning to develop a robot body, focusing solely on the 'next-generation embodied brain.' The article also details Chen's previous work at Xiaomi, including the Xiaomi MiMo-Embodied model and the XLA driving model, and discusses the challenges of applying RSI to physical robots versus digital models, citing experts from DeepMind, Anthropic, and DeepSeek.
Read sourceFormer Xiaomi AI Head Chen Long Starts Embodied AI Startup in Silicon Valley, Lei Jun Backs Him
Chen Long, former head of Xiaomi's intelligent driving base model and XLA large model team, has co-founded a startup in Silicon Valley to develop embodied large models using Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI) technology. The venture, which has secured funding and begun commercial partnerships, aims to create a 'self-evolving' embodied brain that requires only small amounts of data, diverging from the industry's focus on scaling laws. Chen Long was personally interviewed by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun when he joined the company, and Lei Jun expressed support for his entrepreneurial decision before he left. Xiaomi's intelligent driving team has brought in executives from Horizon Robotics to replace Chen Long and former L3 head Wang Naiyan. The report is based on multiple independent sources and an investor's commentary.
Read sourceFormer Xiaomi AI Lead Chen Long Moves to Silicon Valley to Co-Found Embodied AI Startup
Chen Long, former head of Xiaomi's autonomous driving base model and XLA large model team, has moved to Silicon Valley to co-found a startup focused on embodied AI, according to multiple independent sources. He is partnering with a former Google DeepMind scientist to develop a 'self-evolving' embodied brain, diverging from the industry trend of trying to replicate LLM scaling laws for embodied AI. The project has already secured funding and initiated commercial collaborations. Chen Long was personally interviewed by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun when he joined the company. Before leaving, Chen Long discussed his plans with Lei Jun, who expressed support for his entrepreneurial choice. Xiaomi's autonomous driving team has since brought in several executives from Horizon Robotics to lead the team, replacing Chen Long and former L3 head Wang Naiyan.
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Former Xiaomi AI Lead Chen Long Founds Silicon Valley Startup Focused on Self-Evolving Embodied Brain
According to an exclusive report by 21st Century Business Herald citing multiple independent sources, Chen Long, former head of Xiaomi's autonomous driving base model and XLA large model, has moved to Silicon Valley to co-found a startup developing embodied large models. Chen is partnering with a former Google DeepMind scientist. The project has secured funding and begun commercial collaborations. Unlike most embodied AI companies that attempt to replicate LLM scaling laws through more data or training methods, Chen is pursuing a 'self-evolving' embodied brain using Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI) technology, which requires only small amounts of data. RSI, popularized by Anthropic and DeepMind, involves AI systems that can design and develop their own successors. Chen reportedly discussed his departure with Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, who supported his entrepreneurial choice. Before leaving, Chen delivered the XLA model for mass production in Xiaomi vehicles and developed the Xiaomi MiMo-Embodied model bridging autonomous driving and embodied intelligence. The article notes that implementing RSI for embodied AI is more difficult than for multimodal models due to the lack of replicable testing environments in the physical world, though companies like Unitree are also exploring similar approaches.
Read sourceFormer Xiaomi AI Lead Chen Long Founds Silicon Valley Startup for Self-Evolving Embodied Brain
Former Xiaomi smart driving and XLA large model lead Chen Long has moved to Silicon Valley to co-found a startup focused on developing a 'self-evolving' embodied AI brain, according to multiple independent sources cited by 21st Century Business Herald. Chen, who was personally interviewed by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun before joining, reportedly discussed his departure with Lei, who supported his entrepreneurial move. The startup has secured funding and begun commercial partnerships. Unlike most embodied AI companies that pursue scaling laws through more data, Chen aims to use Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI) technology to achieve strong results with minimal data. RSI, popularized by Anthropic and DeepMind, involves AI systems that can design and improve their own successors. The article notes that implementing RSI for embodied AI is significantly harder than for digital AI due to the lack of reproducible physical testing environments. Chen previously led development of Xiaomi's MiMo-Embodied model and the XLA smart driving model before leaving.
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