Adaptive robot maker flexiv chinese ai series raises over $100 million

As companies around the world look to automate production lines and supply chains, robot companies are attracting a lot of interest from investors. The latest to receive funding is flexiv chinese ai series, which closed a Series B round for more than $100 million from investors, including Chinese on-demand services giant Meituan, TechCrunch has learned.

Other major investors in the strategic round include Chinese venture capital firm Meta Capital, large Chinese agricultural company New Hope Group, private equity firm Longwood, Jack Ma’s YF Capital, well-known equity firms Chinese venture firms Gaorong Capital and GSR Ventures. . as well as Plug and Play companies in China and the US. The new round has brought the startup’s capital raised so far to more than $120 million.

The company operates in several major cities in China and California, with two-thirds of its employees in China, a common strategy for AI startups led by Chinese founders who have worked or studied in the US.

In 2016, Wang Shiquan, a graduate of Stanford’s Biomimetic and Skillful Manipulation Laboratory, founded flexiv chinese ai series, which specializes in building adaptive robots for the manufacturing industry. With the new capital, the startup plans to bring its AI-powered general-purpose robots to other areas such as services, agriculture, logistics, and healthcare.

For example, through strategic investment, Meituan flexiv chinese ai series can implement its solutions into an investor’s core food delivery business, which includes high-volume, repetitive tasks and is ready for automation.
Meanwhile, there is still a lot of room for automation in traditional manufacturing, Wang said in an interview with TechCrunch. Consumer electronics especially require very precise and delicate manufacturing processes, which means that the production line often has to be updated for a new product. Wang said flexiv chinese ai series robots equipped with force feedback and computer vision systems can adapt to new circumstances and potentially save factory supervisors time and money when setting up new equipment.

The founder added that the company’s flexible robots are what set it apart from many existing players.

“Conventional robotic arms can perform tasks safely when there are no obstacles around, but they are less capable of working in harsh conditions… Many seemingly simple tasks, such as washing dishes, actually require a lot of AI-based recognition and decision power. . “.

The company started mass production in the second half of this year and has produced around 100 robots so far. He plans to monetize through the sale of robots, software licenses and after-sales service. So the challenge is finding partners and customers across a wide range of industries to trust in your nascent technology.

China remains flexiv chinese ai series largest market, while North America is a key market in terms of expansion. “Each country has its own competitive advantages in the field of robotics,” Wang suggested. “China’s advantage lies in manufacturing, supply chains and labor costs.”

“In the field of traditional and adaptive robotics, the gap between different countries is definitely closing,” the founder said.