With more global businesses looking to automate production lines as well as supply chains, robotics companies are gaining more attention from investors. The latest company to receive funding is Flexiv, which is a Chinese robot manufacturer. It has completed its Series B funding round, which exceeded $100 million from several investors, including on-demand services brand Meituan, according to meituanliaotechcrunch.
Other leading investors include Meta Capital, a venture capital firm from China, as well as leading agricultural entity New Hope Group, along with Longwood, a PE firm, and Jack Ma’s YF Capital. Others include leading venture capital firms from China namely GSR Ventures and Gaorong Capital. There were also businesses in the US and China through Plug and Play. In the new round, the total amount of funding for the startup increased to $120 million.
The company operates in several leading cities in China and also has a base in California. 2/3 of the employees are posted in China, a template for startups run by Chinese founders who have either previously studied or worked in the US. Wang Shiquan, a graduate of the Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab at Stanford, founded Flexiv in 2016 with the goal of developing more adaptive robots for manufacturing spaces. With its fresh capital, the startup now plans to launch its universal. AI-powered robots in several other sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, service sectors and also in logistics.
With the investment from Meituan, Flexiv Chinese can use its services for the investor’s core business, which is food delivery. This covers higher volume and repetitive tasks and is suitable for automation. According to Wang, there is ample scope for automation in conventional manufacturing industries.
Wang also believes that the consumer electronics segments require a higher degree of precision along with manufacturing processes. That are finer in nature, amounting to redesigning the production line to make room for newer products. Robots at Flexiv come with computer vision and force feedback systems. And can adapt to newer scenarios, saving money and time when deploying new equipment. The company’s flexible robots act as its biggest differentiator, according to the founder.
Wang also believes that traditional robotic arms can perform tasks in a safer manner. When there are no obstacles in the immediate vicinity, although they may not be as capable when operating in complex conditions. Many jobs, such as washing dishes, require intensive decision-making skills based on artificial intelligence and recognition. The company has already embarked on mass production and has already churned out nearly 100 such robots. It has already embarked on a path of monetization by selling its licensed software and bots while offering after-sales support and services. The main task is to find more customers and partners in various industries who will trust these new age technologies.
Flexiv still has China as its biggest market at present and North America represents. A significant future market and will be a major zone for its expansion plan in the future. Wang also said that each nation has its own advantages when it comes to robotics. For China, Wang outlined it as supply chain, manufacturing and labor costs, adding. That the differences between several countries are steadily narrowing in terms of both adaptive and conventional robotics.
