Chinese tech media 36Kr reported today that PadBot (派宝机器人), a commercial service robot developer, had announced a Series B round of funding valued at tens of millions of yuan, backed by KCI Capital.
The proceeds from this round will be used to accelerate the application of unmanned service solutions in office buildings, as well as to develop products intended for outdoor use and expand into oversea markets.
Previously, PadBot raised funds from Yawei Group, Innoangel Fund and NewMargin Fund, and was recognized as a specialized high-tech small and medium enterprise by authorities in Guangdong Province.
Headquartered in the provincial capital of Guangzhou, PadBot started out by offering home-use smart robotic assistants via crowdsourcing platforms Kickstarter and Indiegogo in 2013.
The firm was compelled to pivot to commercial robotics in 2017, when smart speakers came along and met most of consumer needs in a home scenario.
PadBot’s switch to commercial robotics began with its launch of a guide or butler robot, to be followed with delivery and patrol robots that cover typical applications in an office building.
The coronavirus outbreak in 2020 has spurred the growth of the delivery robot sector, amid a spike in demand for contact-less services to comply with China’s strict “zero-infection” control meassures.
According to iyiou, a market intelligence provider, the size of China’s commercial service robot industry in 2025 is expected to hit 115.95 billion yuan (US$16.76 billion).
Since then, PadBot has been committed to the design, development and sale of commercial service robots. It so far has four product lines covering concierge, logistics, safety patrol, and cleaning and disinfection robots.
In addition, it also rolled out a cloud dispatch platform that can coordinate the management of a robot fleet.
In the words of PadBot, it provides office buildings with integrated solutions for unmanned services, thus building a closed business loop.
Compared to multi-purpose service robots that are often advertised as “all in one,” PadBot departs from the norm by designing products for single use cases.
“If we add more functions simply to generate more sales, in terms of scenario compatibility and product practicality, multi-purpose products may not be the best option,” said Qin Zhengming, founder and CEO of PadBot.
Product-wise, all PadBot robots sit on a self-developed chassis featuring a payload of 50 to 100 kg. This chassis, equipped with an amalgam of algorithms, is able to scan and map an area as large as 40,000 sqm in real time.
This attribute makes it fit to not just perform tasks in office buildings or hotels, but also in more diverse and complex scenarios, such as industrial park, special market and shopping mall.
The chassis also allows the robot to move across stories of a building, call and ride an elevator, pass through turnstiles and electric doors, and navigate the interior of a building with ease.
That said, the company is likely to find itself up against intense competition. In the delivery and cleaning robot sectors alone, it faces strong opponents such as Keenon Robotics (擎朗智能), Pudu Robotics (普渡机器人), Yunji Technology (云迹科技), Orion Star (猎户星空) and Gausium (高仙机器人).
