According to multiple independent sources contacted by 21 Auto, Chen Yonghai, former vice president of products at XPeng Group, has joined EngineAI as president of operations, reporting to Chairman and CEO Zhao Tongyang.
The report noted that an informed source revealed Chen Yonghai left XPeng Group in January this year, after which EngineAI founder Zhao Tongyang invited him to join the company. Another informed source revealed that other robotics companies had also invited Chen Yonghai to join them. After leaving XPeng Group, Chen Yonghai had at one point planned to personally start a robotics business, but has now chosen to join EngineAI.
EngineAI was founded by Zhao Tongyang in the second half of 2023. Before that, Zhao Tongyang had co-founded Pengxing Intelligent (XPeng Pengxing) with XPeng Group as a joint venture and served as its general manager. On April 9 this year, EngineAI announced the completion of a $200 million Series B financing round (Note: approximately 1.352 billion yuan at the current exchange rate), at a valuation of more than 10 billion yuan.
In January this year, reports stated that Chen Yonghai, vice president of XPeng's product center, had left in December 2025, with President Wang Fengying temporarily taking over his responsibilities. Chen Yonghai had known XPeng Chairman He Xiaopeng for 15 years. He joined UC, founded by He Xiaopeng, in 2010 as a product director, responsible for planning and designing multiple products including the UC desktop. In 2014, UC was acquired by Alibaba and restructured with Gaode Map. Chen Yonghai subsequently left UC, briefly joined 360, and later joined Gaode at the invitation of UC CEO Yu Yongfu. As the head of product operations, he took full responsibility for Gaode Map's product work.
In January 2022, Chen Yonghai joined XPeng Motors. At the time, XPeng's vice president of internet center Ji Yu announced his departure, and Chen Yonghai took over responsibility for the internet center. That same year, the XPeng G9 had an unsuccessful launch, prompting XPeng to readjust its product strategy, after which Chen Yonghai took charge of the product center.