China warehouse robot supplier secures $200m
Hai Robotics, a China-based manufacturer of robots used in warehouses, has raised approximately $200 million across two funding rounds.
5Y Capital led a Series C with participation from Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital, VMS, Walden International, and Scheme Capital. This was followed by a Series D with Capital Today China Group taking the lead. Sequoia, 5Y, Source Code, Legend Star, and 01VC also contributed capital.
In March, Hai Robotics received a Series B extension of $15 million led by 5Y with support from Source Code and Walden. The company raised $14.7 million across its Series A and B rounds, which closed in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Source Code led the Series B with participation from Walden and 01VC. Walden and Alibaba Group-backed logistics player Best provided the Series A.
Hai Robotics launched Haipick, the world’s first autonomous case-handling robotics (ACR) system, in 2015. The company claims its robots differ from others in the market because they can carry cartons as well as individual totes and bring multiple cases to pickers or conveyors in one movement. The robots reach shelves up to 7 meters in height and carry up to eight loads at once.
Warehouse automation can be achieved in one week, leading to 80-130% increase in storage density and up to a fourfold increase in human working efficiency, according to a statement.
Hai Robotics runs more than 200 projects globally with over 2,000 ACR robots deployed, accounting for 90% share in the ACR robot market. The company is benefiting from a broader surge in automation. Citing LogisticsIQ, it estimates the warehouse automation market will be worth $30 billion by 2026, representing compound annual growth of 14% since 2019.
Working out of a factory in Dongguan, Hai Robotics has an annual production capacity of 10,000 robots. It has more than 1,000 staff, over half of them engineers, and holds 400 global patents. Customers are based in over 30 territories, with LG CNS, MHS Global, Mujin, BPS Global Group, and Savoye among the larger names.
"Our major future orientation will center on expanding the overseas market and localize our service," said Richie Chen, the company's co-founder and CEO. The new capital will also go towards technological upgrades, optimizing its supply chain management, and recruitment.
The best-funded company in China’s warehouse robot space is Geek+, which claims to be the leading global supplier of autonomous mobile robots and the only one covering all robotics categories and scenarios in warehousing and factory environments.
The likes of XYZ Robotics and Mech-Mind Robotics – both specialists in “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 – have also received funding. 5Y and Source Code are investors in XYZ.
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