China robotics player Cyclone gets $40m Series B
Matrix Partners China has led a $40 million Series B round for local robotics start-up Cyclone. Other investors include DCM, Lenovo Capital, Source Code Capital, and Renzhi Capital.
Founded in 2015, Cyclone raised tens of millions of US dollars in Series A round led by DCM and Source Code last year, according to the record of AVCJ Research.
The company is a robotic process automation (RPA) specialist. RPA systems simulate human behavior and fully automate highly manual processes, which can reduce labor costs, improve efficiency, and ensure projects are completed consistently. If artificial intelligence equates to a robot brain, then RPA is a robot's hands, industry participants say.
The latest trend is AI-RPA solutions, which combine the two capabilities. "Cyclone is running fast from RPA to RPA-plus-AI. They can definitely create better performance in the future," said Xingchen Zhang, a vice president at Source Code.
Cyclone claims to have more than 100 enterprise customers across financial services, energy, government, manufacturing, retail, logistics, and technology.
Other start-ups pursuing RPA-AI in China include Laiye Technology, which secured $42 million in Series C funding led by Lightspeed China Partners and the VC firm's global affiliate earlier this year. Laiye's interactive robots serve both consumer and business users. The company initially focused on AI and branched into RPA with the acquisition of Awesome Technology.
Meanwhile, Emotibot raised $45 million in an extended Series B round last year and Encoo Technology closed $30 million in Series B funding.
UiPath and Automation Anywhere are among the leading US-based RPA players. They achieved post-money valuations of $10 billion and $6.8 billion, respectively, in funding rounds that closed last year. According to consulting firm Zinnov, companies spent more than $2.3 billion on RPA globally in 2019, while over one-third are using or experimenting with RPA robots. In the business process outsourcing, the RPA market share exceeds 90%.
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