China Owns the Robotics Data Layer. Europe Is Watching. While Chinese startups build the infrastructure that trains the world's robots, Europe's best-known robotics names are listed as hardware incumbents — not data architects. ## What happened in China Shanghai-based LightWheel has raised $145 million across its A++ and A+++ funding rounds, with both industrial partners and financial investors participating. The company describes itself as the world's first unicorn focused on physical AI infrastructure — specifically the data and simulation layer that trains embodied AI systems and robots. LightWheel is not alone. AIsphere closed a $300 million Series C — described as record-breaking — tied to its PixVerse video-generation models and its push toward real-time interactive world models. Violoop, a hardware-driven AI startup, secured multi-million-dollar funding to build what it calls the world's first physical-level AI Operator. MiroMind, meanwhile, has recruited three AI scientists directly from xAI, FAIR, and leading…