Ex-Xiaomi XLA head Chen Long launches embodied AI startup in Silicon Valley

The move signals that embodied AI is pulling senior autonomous-driving talent out of large Chinese OEMs and into early-stage ventures, even as Xiaomi's own smart-driving effort matures. The pairing with a former DeepMind researcher, plus funding and commercial partners already in place, suggests the venture is targeting deployment rather than pure research. For the broader robotics and RWA-adjacent automation narrative, the open question is whether this becomes part of a wider exodus of Chinese autonomous-driving leaders to Western embodied-AI startups, and how Xiaomi's foundation-model roadmap absorbs the departure.