IIoT Platform RootCloud Completes USD 500 Million Series B Funding Round

Technology Author: Linyan Feng Jun 17, 2019 11:30 AM (GMT+8)

China’s leading IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) platform RootCloud announced it has closed Series B round of funding of USD 500 million on June 17, led by Beijing-based Hejun Capital.

Gray industrial machine. Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash

China’s leading IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) platform RootCloud (树根互联) announced it has closed Series B round of funding of USD 500 million on June 17, led by Beijing-based Hejun Capital (和君资本), followed by Zwcventures (众为资本), Rising Investments (鼎兴量子) and other investment institutions. Its existing investor Matrix Partners China followed in the new round of funding.  

With this record-setting amount of investment in the vertical, the company aims to invest more on platform research, keep expanding its IIoT ecosystem and provides higher-quality services leveraged by artificial intelligence, big data, and edge computing.

RootCloud offers cloud computing software and hardware solutions for manufacturers, financial institutions, after-sales service providers, government regulatory agencies. The company was founded as a unit under Sany Heavy Industry Co. (600031.SH) in 2016. Relying on Sany’s over 10-years-experience in industrial technology accumulation and around CNY 1.5 billion (USD 225 million) investment from its parent company, RootCloud has been able to provide life-cycle management and digital transformation for large-scale manufacturing enterprises after it separately operated.

As China is shifting from being the world’s largest manufacturing provider to the world’s strongest with cutting-edge intelligent manufacturing technology, RootCloud grabbed the opportunity to be one of the best startups in industrial internet. The company’s CEO He Dongdong (贺东东) claims internet of things has been experiencing three steps: first is the connections of personal computers which led to an e-commerce trend in China; second is the connection between smartphones that changing people’s lifestyle and social thinking; the last is the one with more profound influence on everyone’s life based on the realization of IIoT.

With branches in Suzhou, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha, the company’s open platform connects 560,000 industrial devices, covering 61 verticals including foundry, injection molding, machine tool manufacturing, and machining textile and garment, diesel engine manufacturing and so on. Cooperating with several leading players including KOCEL in foundry, Liniqlie in Injection molding and Sewing machine factory Jack, RootCloud established 14 vertical cloud platform. The firm also launched its RootCloud’s overseas IIoT platform in 2018, expanding to the world.