US-based production-line robot manufacturer Flexiv secured more than $100m yesterday in a series B round featuring local services portal operator Meituan Dianping and diversified conglomerate New Hope Group.
Venture capital firms Meta Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Gaorong Capital and GSR Ventures also took part in the round, as did private equity firms Longwood Fund and YF Capital.
Founded in 2016 as a Stanford University spinout, Flexiv has developed a manufacturing robot called Rizon that has been designed to perform intricate production tasks in multiple industries.
Rizon incorporates artificial intelligence that helps it rapidly learn new functions, as well as performance materials to prevent the robot from trembling in unstable working environments.
The company operates in multiple Chinese cities and counts China as its biggest market, but regards North America as a key expansion target.
Shiquan Wang, Flexiv’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “The strategic funding from leading companies and funds in various industries will mainly be used for mass production and marketing, new market development and cutting-edge research and development.
“We will continue focusing on automation transformation of the manufacturing industry while exploring new applications in a broader range of industries including services, agriculture, logistics, medical care and so on.”
Flexiv had raised a total of $22m in funding as of April 2019, from GSR Ventures, Gaorong Capital, ZhenFund, M-Fund and Shunwei Capital.