This is the third in a seven-part series on China's VC investment in Q1 2022. This series features firms spanning seven industries, including smart mobility, healthcare, New Retail, intelligent hardware, smart manufacturing, enterprise services and emerging technologies
“Made in China 2025,” a strategic document signed and approved by Premier Li Keqiang and issued by the State Council in May 2015, proposes to accelerate intelligent transformation of production equipment in machinery, aviation, ships, automobiles, light industry, textiles, food, electronics and other industries.
The development of intelligent manufacturing requires technical product support at multiple levels, mainly including industrial robots, 3D printing, industrial Internet of Things, cloud computing, industrial big data, industrial network security, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. A large number of companies will emerge in these areas, says a report by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.
For smart manufacturing, we at EqualOcean have identified 20 companies worth watching in Q1. The core criterion is to receive venture capital investments of over USD 30 million on average or the equivalent value in CNY in a single round. When compiling the list, we also considered factors such as growth prospects, brand influences and reputation, as well as planned expansions.
From SMEs about to make their mark in the market, to well-established companies that have already raised significant funds and are still seeking further capital injections, here's a list you won't want to miss.
Supos
Industry operating system developer Supos received CNY 500 million (USD 78.46 million) from its Series A financing round on March 17, led by Fu Zhe Capital, with participation by SBCVC.
Supos was founded in 2018 by Professor Chu Jian, a top scientist of industrial automation/digitization/intelligence in China. Its product supOS is the first industrial operating system with independent intellectual property rights in China.
ROKAE
On February 7, ROKAE (Chinese: 珞石机器人) closed a CNY 400 million strategic investment round backed by New Hope Group.
Founded in 2018, ROKAE is a global leader in the field of light-weight flexible industrial and collaborative robots. More than 90% of their R&D staff hold a master’s degree or above. Most of them are experienced robotics engineers graduating from prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University and Zhejiang University.
FAIR
On March 9, FAIR Robotics (Chinese: 法奥意威) , a top collaborative robot company, completed a USD 50 million Series B financing round, led by Source Code Capital, with participation by Alibaba, Meituan Dragon Ball Capital, and follow-on investment from existing shareholders including Hillhouse Capital, Shunwei Capital, and Bell Capital.
Founded in 2019, FAIR Robotics is the first collaborative robot company to achieve independent research and development of all core components in China. The founders come from top universities at home and abroad.
MeetFuture
MeetFuture (Chinese: 弥费实业) secured hundreds of millions of CNY from its Series B round of financing on March 14, led by Genertec Investment, with participation by Qiming Venture Partners, Haitong Innovation Securities Investment, and Bojiang Capital. Qiming also led MeetFuture’s Series A funding round.
Founded in 2014, MeetFuture is a technology-driven semiconductor equipment company and the leading semiconductor AMHS (Automated Material Handling System) supplier in China.
Elite Robot
On March 11, Elite Robot (Chinese: 艾利特机器人) bagged hundreds of millions of CNY from a Series C round of financing, led by Fortune Capital and Advantech Capital, with participation by Kunyan Capital.
As a leading collaborative robot designer and manufacturer founded in 2018 in China, Elite Robot has been dedicating itself to revamping industrial standards and conducting technological reform and research.
Robot Phoenix
On March 14, Robot Phoenix (Chinese: 翼菲自动化) completed a Series D funding round worth hundreds of millions of CNY, led by Primavera Capital, with participation from CBC Capital and THG Ventures.
Established in 2012, Robot Phoenix LLC is headquartered in the High-tech Development Zone of Jinan, capital of northern China’s Shandong province. It is a comprehensive high-tech automation enterprise and has passed ISO9001:2008 and CE qualification, owning dozens of national patents.
Multiway
Multiway Robotics (Chinese: 劢微机器人) has received a total of CNY 145 million (UDS 22.773 million) in four financing rounds. The latest round took place on February 24, when Multiway Robotics closed its Series A2 financing round for hundreds of millions of CNY from China Creation Ventures.
Multiway Robotics was founded in 2019 by Chen Wencheng and headquartered in Shenzhen. It is a leading intelligent intralogistics solution provider.
Rongan Networks
On January 1, Rongan Networks (Chinese: 融安网络) raised CNY 100 million from its Series C round of financing, led by Ying Capital, and GIG Capital also participated.
Founded in 2018, Rongan Networks is a leading enterprise in domestic industrial control security technology. Its management and core technical teams are from well-known tech companies such as Huawei, ZTE and Emerson.
CAS Photoelectric Precision Engineering
On January 25, Xi’an CAS Photoelectric Precision Engineering (Chinese: 中科光电精密工程) completed a pre-Series A round of financing worth tens of millions of CNY, with participation by Orient Jiafu Asset Management.
Founded in 2013, CAS Photoelectric Precision Engineering is a high-end equipment developer specializing in intelligent optical and visual technology. Members of the company's core technical team come from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
WinRobs
On March 25, WinRobs (Chinese: 苏州威达智) bagged tens of millions of CNY from its Series A round of financing, with participation by a state-owned fund affiliated with the Suzhou Industrial Park Science and Technology Innovation Committee and the Enterprise Service Center, Oriza Holdings, and SR Capital.
WinRobs is a high-tech enterprise providing overall solutions for advanced factories and intelligent equipment. It has become a leading manufacturer of such products.
C2MATICA
On February 15, C2MATICA (Chinese: 塬数科技) received tens of millions of CNY from its Series A funding round, led by Chenshan Capital, with participation from Bojiang Capital.
Founded in 2020, C2MATICA is a supply chain total solution service provider. It is able to build a demand-driven C2M mass customization supply chain management solution for customers through the self-developed SaaS product Craftica.
GZCZJD
On March 2, Guangzhou Chuangzhi Jidian, or GZCZJD (Chinese: 创智机电), completed its Series A round of financing worth tens of millions of CNY, backed by Sunflower Investment.
Founded in 2009, CZJD is an industrial robot and automation equipment developer and a high technology enterprise in southern China’s Guangdong Province.
NeuroBot
NeuroBot (Chinese: 矩视智能), founded in 2017, closed its Series A round of financing of tens of millions of CNY on March 9. SIG Susquehanna was the investor.
NeuroBot is an industrial AI vision open platform provider. The company's team comprises graduates with AI-related doctorates and master’s degrees from top universities at home and abroad.
ChipNext
On February 15, ChipNext (Chinese: 芯耐特半导体) secured tens of millions of CNY from its Series A financing round backed by Wisemen Capital.
Founded in 2015 by a group of experienced semiconductor engineers in Silicon Valley, ChipNext Technology is a world-class fables IC design house. It specializes in high-performance analog signal processing IC with a focus on high-precision analog processing, power management and highspeed interface.
3Phis
3Phis (Chinese: 三相科技) announced its Series A and Series A+ rounds of financing in early February for tens of millions of CNY, led by Country Garden Venture Capital and Li Yuan Venture Capital, with participation from In Capital.
3Phis, founded in 2015 in eastern China’s Hangzhou , is a motor product research and development manufacturer. The company seeks to replace imports with high-end indigenously produced motors.
Nuanliu Technology
On February 16, Nuanliu Technology (Chinese: 暖流科技) bagged tens of millions of CNY from its Series A financing round, led by Sinovation Ventures, with participation by Peakview Capital and E Link Capital.
Beijing Nuanliu Technology Co., Ltd. was established in September 2015. It is the first smart heating SaaS service provider with self-developed core technologies in China. The company is headed by Dr. Liu Lanbin and Ni Weidou, a top scientist and former vice president of Tsinghua University.
CYBERIOT
CYBERIOT (Chinese: 赛博联物) received millions of CNY from its angel funding round, backed by SOSV-SCGC China Fund.
CYBERIOT, founded in 2019, is an industrial IoT (Internet of Things) developer that, based on AI electrical wave smart recognition technology, offers high-performance electric signal sensors, smart edge terminals and an industrial internet platform catering to industrial machine tools, industrial robots and semiconductor manufacturing.
BSG
BSG (Chinese: 佰思杰) closed a Series B funding round for an undisclosed amount. The new shareholder, Hanxing Venture Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Xiaomi, has a shareholding ratio of over 10%.
BSG, founded in 2012, is a leading intellectual manufacturing total solution provider in China, its clients are from top 500 Chinese manufacturing enterprises and groups.
TSINGYUN Intelligence
TSINGYUN Intelligence (Chinese:清云智通) completed a strategic investment for an undisclosed amount from Dazi County Bai Ruixiang Venture Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Baidu.
TSINGYUN Intelligence was established by Tsinghua University, Tsinghua Holdings, Zhongguancun Development Group and other entities in 2019. The company relies on research results of Tsinghua University in the field of process industry, promoting safe, intelligent and autonomous transformation and upgrading of the chemical industry with industrial big data, artificial intelligence and industrial Internet technologies.
KINGER Robot
KINGER Robot (Chinese: 科捷机器人) announced a strategic investment for an undisclosed amount. Hangzhou Maijie Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, became a new shareholder of KINGER Robot.
Founded in 2013, KINGER Robot, an important partner of Foxconn in the field of robotics in mainland China, is an industrial robot developer who has hundreds of invention patents and utility model patents.