EqualOcean has been informed that on July 12, ForwardX Robotics (Chinese: 灵动科技), a fourth-generation automotive mobile robotics company, announced the completion of a CNY 200 million C+ round of financing. Up to now, ForwardX Robotics' Series C financing has totaled more than CNY 650 million.
Founded in 2016, ForwardX Robotics is a global mobile robot company empowered by AI and registered in both China and the US, and is the world's leading vision-navigated automotive mobile robotics (AMR) company, providing robotic handling and picking solutions for the manufacturing and warehousing industries. ForwardX Robotics has more than 100 customers and serves many Fortune 500 companies, helping them reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Through in-depth observation and long-term thinking, Qi Ou, founder and CEO of ForwardX Robotics, has keenly realized that the market for fourth-generation vision AMR mobile robots is in the blue ocean stage, with a relatively empty market and a small technology gap between domestic and foreign companies. In 2017 and 2018, the company started the R&D of vision automotive mobile robots, in 2019, the company developed an intelligent robot cluster scheduling system, and in 2020, the company released the world's only AMR with computer vision multi-sensor fusion solution, marking the entire mobile robot industry's formal entry into the era of fourth-generation mobile robots. With the realization of large-scale commercialization of products, the fourth-generation vision AMR mobile robots represented by ForwardX Robotics have achieved rapid development in China and are in a leading position in the world.
Currently, ForwardX Robotics has an innovative vision for AMR full-stack products, including Flex, Max, Apex, Lynx and many other AMR series. Through the fourth generation of vision AMR mobile robots and self-developed cluster scheduling system, it realizes cost reduction and efficiency of target products, improves market competitiveness, and has won the recognition of more head customers. Behind the excellent products is the right technical way and a large amount of R&D investment. The company has invested more than 500 million yuan in R&D. At present, the global intellectual property rights applications have exceeded 410, and more than 170 patents have been approved, including more than 60 overseas patent approvals.
Qi Ou said, ForwardX Robotics in China focuses on the head of high-end customers to ensure the right level of profitability and quickly form a demonstration effect to achieve project scale replication. While deeply cultivating China, ForwardX Robotics also focuses on expanding overseas markets. Qi Ou said, "ForwardX Robotics has now become one of the mainstream players in the field of "mobile robotics", and will focus more on overseas market expansion in the future. In addition to its established branches in the US and Japan, the company has also set up facilities in Australia and Europe and has frequently introduced new products at major overseas exhibitions. ForwardX Robotics has always been committed to becoming the world's most valuable mobile robot platform company, making mobile robots new and productive and unleashing human creativity.
This round of financing was co-invested by Anhui State-owned Capital (Chinese: 安徽国控投资), Hefei Gaoxin Group (Chinese: 合肥高投) and Hefei Industry Investment Group (Chinese: 合肥产投资本). Proceeds raised in this round will be mainly used for new product R&D, overseas market expansion, commercialization delivery and supply chain deployment. Since its establishment in 2016, ForwardX Robotics has raised nearly CNY 1 billion in 7 years. It has gained the favor of Taikang Asset, Eastern Bell Capital, China Merchants Group and other well-known investment institutions.