The demand for robot vacuum cleaner is universal, and currently the market is characterized by low penetration and high growth
Chinese ODM intelligent sweeping robot manufacturer LeSheng Smart (Chinese: 乐生智能) announced its completion of a Series A+ round of financing, amounting to nearly CNY 200 million (USD 31.38 million).
The sole investor in this round was Fortune Capital (Chinese: 达晨财智). Chen Jinyi, chairman of LeSheng, said that the funds will be spent on R&D, production site and construction of the headquarters.
Lu Zeyuan, deputy investment director at Fortune Capital, believed that the cleaning robot market has great potential. China’s capacity advantage puts its cleaning robot makers at the forefront of the industry and enables them to supply the world market, Lu noted.
Lu added that the robot consists of a mobile chassis with multiple functions, such as cleaning, security and providing company and care, and that it will have wider applications in the future.
In Lu’s view, the industry has entered a stage of incremental innovation. Thanks to the industrial advantages and resources in the Bay Area, where the startup was headquartered, LeSheng has a strong ability in supply chain management and manufacturing, as well as product development, to earn more partners and a bigger slice of the global terminal device market, the venture capitalist remarked.
LeSheng Smart was established in Dongguan in 2017. The company has more than 200 employees working on core technology. It serves dozens of clients, including Haier, Conga (Spanish brand), Roidmi, Yunmi and other leading brands. Half of its orders are generated domestically while the rest are from overseas.
In the past two years, LeSheng’s shipment increased 20%, and it is expected to hit 2.5 million this year. The company has three factories covering over 60,000 square meters with around 1,500 staff. Last year, its revenue was about CNY 1.3 billion (USD 0.2 billion).
LeSheng’s product line includes intelligent sweeping robots, hand-held vacuum cleaners, floor cleaners, smart tower fans, smart pet products, air cleaners and so on. The company said that besides the sweeping robots, it will expand the categories in intelligent household appliances.