Xynova Dexterous Hands: Programmable Dexterity for the Physical World

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the race to commercialize embodied AI intensifies, Bloomberg recently profiled Xynova, an emerging force in China's robotics industry specializing in one critical component: dexterous hands. Founded in 2024, the startup became a unicorn in less than two years. In the interview, the founder and CEO Alex Xia offered a pointed observation: robotics developers remain stalled at the threshold of commercialization, in large part because they lack high-performance dexterous hands.

Production-ready, high-DoF dexterous hands remain scarce. Moving from lab demonstrations to sustained real-world operation still poses significant engineering hurdles in reliability, durability and consistent high performance. Xynova addresses this challenge through vertically integrated in-house R&D and manufacturing, backed by a dual-product portfolio covering hybrid-drive and direct-drive dexterous hands.

Xynova designs and manufactures core components in-house, including motors, electronic controls, reducers and lead screws. Beyond hardware, it also develops the hands' mechanical architecture, sensing systems and control algorithms. This vertically integrated, full-stack approach addresses the industry's longstanding trade-offs among performance, reliability and lifespan.

Underpinning these capabilities is a team blending academic rigor with hands-on manufacturing experience. Its members include graduates of Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Tsinghua University, as well as seasoned professionals from tech giants including Apple, DJI and CATL. Together, they bring expertise spanning the entire process, from research and product engineering to manufacturing and delivery.

Drawing on its full-stack R&D and manufacturing capabilities, Xynova is pursuing two technology approaches in parallel: hybrid-drive dexterous hands for industrial and consumer applications, and direct-drive dexterous hands tailored for advanced research in embodied AI.

At ICRA in June 2026, Xynova unveiled Flex 2 — the world's first 23-DoF hybrid-drive dexterous hand — weighing just 400 grams and balancing dexterity, high load capacity and precision manipulation. In August, the company introduced Prima 1 at WRC in Beijing. The 22-DoF hand adopts a fully direct-drive architecture, delivering high force transparency to support advanced research, data collection and algorithm training.

The two products serve distinct needs in dexterous manipulation. Prima 1 supports experimentation, data collection and model training, while Flex 2 is engineered for reliable, high-performance and efficient operation in real-world settings. Together, they create a closed development loop in which research informs data collection and algorithm training, advances are applied in real-world settings, and the resulting experience feeds into further product iteration.

Xynova's dual-product strategy serves two core customer groups: researchers seeking precise control and a platform for model training, and industrial customers requiring reliability, high performance and efficient deployment. The company has secured substantial orders from leading embodied AI developers and tech companies worldwide.

To address growing market demand, Xynova has commissioned its 5,400-square-meter manufacturing facility in Hangzhou, enabling reliable order fulfillment for customers worldwide.

Xynova's technical capabilities, clear dual-product strategy and commercial progress have also attracted backing from top-tier investors. In less than two years, the company has raised RMB 1.5 billion (approx. USD 220 million) from investors including CATL, Xiaomi, JD.com and Meituan. These industry leaders contribute more than capital: they also give Xynova access to valuable real-world applications and early testing environments for its advanced dexterous hands.

Following appearances at ICRA in Vienna, WAIC in Shanghai and WRC in Beijing, Xynova will showcase its products at IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh in late September. The company invites research institutions, robotics developers, industry partners and media to experience its two flagship products firsthand.

From research platforms to industrial deployment, Xynova aims to make dexterous manipulation a general-purpose capability that robots can use across a wide range of tasks and environments. Its solutions are designed for industrial, consumer and research applications. This ambition is captured in its brand vision: "Xynova dexterous hand. Precision in production. Ease in life."

About Xynova

Xynova is a world-leading full-stack provider of general-purpose dexterous manipulation solutions, focused on developing high-DoF dexterous hands and control algorithms for humanoid robots. 

For more information, please visit www.xynova.ai or contact us at contact@xynova.ai

source: Xynova