
Chinese robotics developer secures $15m Series A
Hangzhou Guochen Robotic Technology, a Chinese company that manufactures intelligent service robots and incubates start-ups in this field, has raised RMB100 million ($15 million) in a Series A round led by domestic VC firm Yingshi Jijin.
Other participants include Hongcheng Capital. Guochen raised an angel round of undisclosed size from GSR Ventures in 2015.
Guochen’s self-developed products include surveillance security robots used by the government, professional service robots for corporates, and industrial robots used in fabric factories. It also develops smart operating systems for the textile industry, one of the major pillars of the economy in Zhejiang province, where the company is located.
Guochen claims to have incubated 12 start-ups with a combined valuation of RMB1 billion. It plans to incubate another 20 start-ups in the next five years, with three to five of them expected to realize an IPO, according to a statement.
Investments include natural language processing start-up Yizhi Intelligent Technology, and Zheng Yu, a company that develops robots with “parallel manipulator” systems used in the industrial, space, medical science, and commercial sectors.
“China aims to transform itself from a simple manufacturing hub to a nation that has strong innovative capacity. To make this happen, companies engaged with intelligent robots and factory development have become a popular investment spot. Different from other robotics start-ups, Guochen manages to become an incubator for promising start-ups in this field and is expected to become the leading technology platform in the industry going forward,” said Hesong Hu, a founding partner at Yingshi.
China has been the world’s largest industrial robot market since 2013. A total of 141,000 robots were purchased in 2017, up 58.1% year-on-year, although foreign brands account for nearly three-quarters of that. Growth in the segment has been connected to rising labor costs and a decreasing working-age population.
Previous investments in the space include a $60 million Series B in 2017 for Geek+, which produces robots for use in logistics and warehousing.
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