MegaRobo today announced that it has raised $30 million in Series B funding. The Beijing-based company, which provides light industrial and food service robots, said it plans to use the financing to build out its laboratory and expand its business.
Founded in 2016, MegaRobo focuses on developing and applying robotics, motion control, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The Beijing-based company said it has applied for more than 150 patents, and its products have received ISO9001 quality management certification.
MegaRobo said its systems serve life sciences, smart retail, and manufacturing applications. The company has 150 employees, with more than half focused on research and development. It also has offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Suzhou, China.
MegaRobo focuses on lab automation
Traditional industrial robots are designed for highly standardized working environments, where robots are programmed to perform repetitive tasks on the factory floor. MegaRobo claimed that its robots are designed to be easy to use for industries beyond manufacturing.
The company said its modular systems integrate machine vision and artificial intelligence. MegaRobo said its robots include fully embedded connectivity capabilities, so every robot can be used as a data-gathering terminal and transmit real-time operational data to the MegaCloud platform. MegaRobo also offers AI-based algorithms to process this data for equipment monitoring, predictive maintenance, and risk management.
The company said its target market is life science, which includes genomic sequencing, biopharmaceuticals, and in-vitro diagnostics (IVD). Laboratory automation is increasingly being applied to enhance productivity, improve staff safety, minimize errors, and lower operational costs, according to MegaRobo.
The global market for lab automation was worth $5.2 billion in 2017 and will experience a 5.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2017 and 2022, predicted Markets and Markets.
In addition, China's large and aging population is encouraging the country's manufacturers and pharmaceuticals industry to invest in automation for value-added activities, MegaRobo said.
Bosch expects more collaboration opportunities
Sinovation Ventures and Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC) led MegaRobo's Series B round, with participation from Liando Investment and Joy Capital. RBVC is the investment arm of the Bosh Group.
Sinovation Ventures was founded in 2009 by Kai-Fu Lee, who developed a continuous speech-recognition system for his doctoral thesis at Carnegie Mellon University and who later led Microsoft Research Asia and Google China.
“MegaRobo's technology increases efficiency in production automation,” stated Dr. Ingo Ramesohl, managing director at RBVC. “Already today, robots from MegaRobo are used for special applications in the end-of-line production of household appliances at Bosch. Beyond these applications, we see many other opportunities for cooperation between MegaRobo and Bosch.”
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