Sequoia leads $14m Series B for China’s Mech-Mind Robotics

It follows two investments last year, including a commitment of undisclosed size from Intel Capital and a RMB100 million Series A that featured Qiming Venture Partners and Delian Capital. Previous investors also include Galileo Ventures, PreAngel Fund, and China Growth Capital. 

Established in 2016, Mech-Mind specializes in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine vision solutions for robotic arms. This includes a focus on “bin picking” which refers to a robot’s ability to use sensors and cameras to identify and then retrieve specific objects positioned at random in a bin.  

Focus applications include logistics, sorting, loading, and electrical assembly. In 2019, Mech-Mind served more than 100 customers in seven countries, mainly in the manufacturing and logistics sectors. Wayne Xiong, a partner at China Growth, told AVCJ the technology is distributed to dealers and technical intermediaries in an easy-to-install format. 

“They sell ‘black boxes’ directly to end-customers. It is a very standardized artificial intelligence vision product,” Xiong said. “The price for one box ranges from RMB50,000 to RMB200,000. Mech-Mind also helps customers implement these boxes on the robotic arms. The deployment is fast and doesn't affect customer’s daily operations.” 

Operations include a team of more than 150 people, with headquarters in Beijing and Shanghai, branches in Shenzhen and Munich, Germany. A Japanese branch is also being established.

Industrial robotics is an active area for Chinese VCs. Recent activity includes Qiming leading a RMB200 million Series B for Emergen. Meanwhile, textile industry-focused Guochen has raised $15 million to develop its own technology as well as incubate other industrial robotics start-ups.

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• Topics
• Industrials
• Technology
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• China
• Sequoia Capital
• artificial intelligence
• manufacturing
• Logistics