Chinese media reported today that Standard Robots (斯坦德机器人), an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) startup, had bagged hundreds of millions of yuan in a Series C round of financing, led by Xiaomi Investment, with participation from China Securities Capital.
Proceeds from this round will go toward expanding the influence of Standard Robots as an AMR industry leader.
Founded in 2015, Standard Robots aspires to build safe, reliable, efficient and flexible logistics solutions on the back of autonomous driving, robotics and AI, in its effort to help clients reduce manufacturing costs, enhance performance and digitalize their operations.
The Shenzhen-based company’s product line consists of AMR, unmanned forklift, as well as an intelligent factory management platform and industry-grade warehousing solutions, combining smart logistics, coordinated dispatch and digital twin technologies.
The cash injection into Standard Robots came as China has embarked on a campaign to promote robotic applications across a spectrum of industries. In particular, the country seeks to double the density of robotics in manufacturing by 2025 from the level in 2020, as outlined in a strategic plan released by the country’s ministries.
“Standard will maintain its foothold in manufacturing as always, dedicate itself wholeheartedly to achieving breakthroughs in core robotic technologies, double down on going global and lead the change for industrial flexibility,” said Wang Yongkun, founder and CEO of Standard Robots.
In a post-investment statement, Xiaomi Investment, the tech giant’s venture capital arm, said the boom of new energy vehicle and semiconductor sectors has led to a spike in demand for AMR and flexible logistics.
“Standard Robots has first-class international vision and rich experience of supplying to top-notch clients,” said Xiaomi Investment. “It also possesses the research prowess, industrial knowledge and closed-loop commercialization capabilities from robotics to software systems.”
Xiaomi added that it continues to bet on Standard’s development and from there will keep backing EV industrial chain players to rev up the expansion of upstream and downstream companies.
Standard Robots has an accumulated shipment of 5,000 units, serving manufacturers for more than 20 million hours. Its business spans over a dozen countries and areas including Japan and the US. The firm counts big names such as Toyota, Nio, Xiaomi, CALB Tech, AikoSolar and JCET among its clients.
The company appears poised to stake its future on a two-pronged strategy, focusing resources on tapping the new energy and semiconductor spaces. Backed by Xiaomi and Nio, Standard reportedly has the biggest market share in the EV space.
In the consumer eletronics domain, Standard’s SLAM-equipped AMRs have ranked at the top in the segment for three years in a row, according to statistics from GGII, an industry think tank.
It has been a top-rated supplier of Foxconn and forged business ties with Oppo, Haier Biology, Lear Corporation and other renowned firms in the past.
