Chinese AI solution provider in logistics is gaining an additional round of financing following a Series C1 last June.
Geek+ announced the completion of two fundraising rounds in Series C for USD 200 million at a post-deal valuation of USD 2 billion. This Series C2 investment round is led by V Fund, joined by Review Capital and Vertex Growth Fund. This Chinese startup provides robotic automation, together with AI solutions, with a dedicated focus in warehouse and logistics.
Founded in 2015, the startup aims to inject AI and automation technologies into the logistics area and helping warehouses, manufacturers and storage centers improve their workflow. So far, it is the only company that provides all-around logistics robots in full-scale scenarios, covering box-to-worker selection, shelf-to-worker selection, collaborative selection, automatic sortation, transport, forklifts, smart warehouses and smart factories.
The interplay of robotics and logistics is always an eye-catching area for capital institutions. As early as July 2019, this Beijing-based robotics firm closed a Series C1 round of funding, valued at more than USD 150 million. GGV Capital and D1 Venture Capital led this deal. In November 2018, the Series B investment was led by Warburg Pincas, at an amount of USD 150 million in November 2018.
Now Geek+ is serving world-class companies such as Nike, Walmart, Decathlon, Toyota, DHL and over 300 other well-known brands. Its international commercialization in over 20 countries has proved its robust capabilities in global sales, operations and services. Recently it has established business partnerships with PC giants such as Microsoft and Intel.
“Intellectualization is the inevitable trend for logistics. Now there is great market room for logistics robotics”, says Li Yu, the co-founder of V Fund, “Owning high-profile robotic hardware and cutting-edge AI algorithm expert team, Geek+ is an outstanding representative of ‘intelligent manufacturing in China.’”
The robotics market in China has always been a fierce arena. Hikvision (002415:SZ), a Hangzhou-based video surveillance equipment provider, also has an arm in the warehousing business, Hik Robot.
Another competitor, Megvii (formerly known as Face++), an image recognition and deep-learning software company, has been eyeing the intelligent robots segment. It announced its robotics strategy in January 2019, showing a strong interest in collaborative intelligence.