Pudu Technology Inc. yesterday announced that it has closed Series C financing of 500 million yuan ($78 million U.S.). The Shenzhen, China-based company provides mobile robots for service applications including delivering food in restaurants, monitoring security, and disinfection.
PuduTech said it will use its latest funding for technology research, expanding its product line, and developing domestic and foreign markets. The company, which was founded in 2016, noted that half of its 1,000 employees are devoted to research and development and that it has applied for more than 600 patents. “The spirit of the inventor” is the first principle of Pudu's corporate culture, stated founder Zhang Tao.
PuduTech focuses on delivery technologies
Among the technologies that PuduTech has developed are robot positioning and navigation, motion control, multi-machine scheduling, and perception and obstacle avoidance. The autonomous mobile robot (AMR) provider said it has also worked on components, intelligent interaction, and simulation for testing.
“Unlike many technology companies that 'hold a hammer to find nails,' Pudu's product capabilities are second to none in the industry,” claimed the company. Its product line includes the PuduBot and BellaBot delivery robots, the HolaBot for collecting items such as used dishes in bins, and the Puductor and Puductor 2 disinfection robots.
“Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic, 'contactless delivery' has become an urgent need for society,” said PuduTech. “The demand for delivery, disinfection, welcoming, cleaning and other types of robots is unprecedentedly strong. Commercial service robot companies represented by Pudu have begun to enter a stage of rapid scale expansion.”
The company said it has sold “tens of thousands of units” in more than 60 countries and 600 cities around the world.
Investors continue support
Returning investors in PuduTech's Series C round included Sequoia Capital China and retailer Meituan-Dianping. They had participated in last year's Series B funding of $30 million. Taihe Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor.
“From the demand side, China's labor supply has entered a long-term contraction cycle,” explained Yeyun Ma, vice president of Taihe Capital. “The service industry, as the scene that needs the most manpower, has become the biggest pain point, as it is difficult to recruit, manage, and pay. ... Commercial service robots are the most direct way to solve this pain point.”
“From the perspective of the supply side, after five or six years of development, China's AMRs have reached a mature state in terms of technology and supply chain, with available products and high economic efficiency” she said. “We believe that with the rapid iteration of the industry, the penetration rate of commercial services AMRs is bound to improve.”
“Zhang Tao has always been particularly enthusiastic about robot innovation,” she added. “He has participated in robot innovation since university and has been engaged in robotics technology and product and business innovation for a long time since then.”
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