„Azimuth“ hat eine Serie-A-Finanzierungsrunde in Höhe von fast 100 Millionen Yuan abgeschlossen und bietet universelle, hochpräzise Innen- und Außen-Lokalisierungs-, Navigations- und Zeitgebersysteme an.
Written by Liu Nianhua
Edited by Peng Xiaoqiu
36Kr has learned that in January 2025, Shanghai Azimuth Data Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Azimuth") successfully completed Series A financing, with a total financing amount of nearly 100 million yuan. This round of financing is led by Zhongbing Beidou Application Research Institute, with Shenzhen Capital Group and Ruihe Asset as co-investors.
The leading investor, Zhongbing Beidou Application Research Institute, is the "national team" for the application and promotion of the Beidou industry. It will assist Azimuth in aspects such as technology research and development, market expansion, standard setting, and industrial chain integration. Shenzhen Capital Group is the angel round investor of Azimuth and continues to follow the investment.
Established in 2021, Azimuth is committed to building a seamless, low-cost, and easy-to-use indoor positioning, navigation, and timing system that integrates with the outdoor satellite navigation system, creating a unified high-precision positioning, navigation, and timing platform for both indoor and outdoor areas, and providing multi-industry service capabilities and solutions.
Image source: Azimuth
Product Matrix: Multi-Precision and Multi-Scenario Coverage
In 2021, 36Kr once reported on "Azimuth" Angel Round Financing. After more than three years, Azimuth has built a more comprehensive product matrix. For the positioning needs of different business scenarios, Azimuth provides various products with millimeter-level to meter-level precision to meet the needs of different users.
- Universal Positioning Product (Meter-Level Precision): For the positioning needs of the general public, such as finding stores in shopping malls, finding parking spaces in parking lots, and navigating in tunnels, Azimuth provides meter-level precision positioning technology and services. Without the need to install or modify software and hardware, any satellite positioning and navigation device such as the user's current smartphone, vehicle-mounted terminal, and smart wearable device can achieve Beidou indoor and outdoor integrated positioning and navigation, supporting various applications or mini-programs such as Baidu Maps, Gaode Maps, and Tencent Maps. Within a speed of 120 km/h, an accuracy of 3 - 10 meters can be achieved. It is suitable for positioning and navigation in scenarios such as tunnels, underground roads, parking lots, exhibition halls, transportation hubs, and shopping malls.
- High-Precision Positioning Product (Sub-Meter and Centimeter-Level Precision): For various industrial scenarios or user scenarios with dense people flow and logistics, Azimuth independently researches and develops Beidou indoor and outdoor integrated high-precision positioning chips, combined with indoor and outdoor high-precision positioning algorithms, to achieve high-precision positioning indoors and outdoors. It is suitable for various scenarios such as personnel monitoring, autonomous driving, automated operations, unmanned aircraft, robots, material supervision, safety and security, and logistics tracking.
- Deformation Monitoring Product (Millimeter-Level Precision): For scenarios that are static but require extremely high positioning accuracy, such as bridges and reservoir dams, Azimuth launches millimeter-level deformation monitoring products to solve the problem of decreased monitoring accuracy of the navigation satellite positioning system in satellite signal-shielded areas such as urban high-rise dense areas, deep mountain canyons, and open-pit mines. It can also be used for deformation monitoring in indoor scenarios, which can solve the problem that traditional satellite deformation monitoring cannot cover indoor scenarios. The deformation monitoring accuracy reaches 1 - 2 millimeters, exceeding the accuracy of traditional satellite deformation monitoring.
In addition to positioning services, Azimuth leverages the team's capabilities to also provide related products in timing and navigation signal simulation.
- Timing Product: Anti-interference and anti-deception, it can achieve long-term self-keeping time independent of the navigation satellite and complies with the specifications of the power and communication industries. It is suitable for timing services in power, transportation, communication, and finance.
- Satellite Simulator: Supports multi-system high-precision navigation signal simulation. In the test, it can generate the corresponding satellite navigation signal according to the time parameters, navigation satellite parameters, and atmospheric environment parameters configured by the user. It can work independently or reproduce the real satellite signal in real time. It is suitable for the testing of various satellite navigation devices and has a very high cost performance.
In terms of product form, Azimuth also responds to user needs. From the base station that generates the signal to the antenna that broadcasts the signal, to the terminal that receives the signal and the operation and maintenance management platform, Azimuth has carried out the research and development and layout of multiple products.
Product Matrix, Image source: Azimuth Technology
High-Precision Technology: Towards the Masses
In 2025, the core direction of Azimuth is to further intelligentize the products, further reduce costs, and create more value for customers.
Azimuth was founded by two deputy chief designers of the Beidou navigation satellite, and the core team has rich experience in the research and development of the Beidou navigation satellite. After three years of technology accumulation, the team has achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in the field of Beidou indoor and outdoor integrated high-precision positioning, navigation, and timing. The products it develops can seamlessly connect with the Beidou satellite and support the integrated function of positioning and timing.
As a team from Beidou, Azimuth has accumulated a large number of technologies and patent reserves, including multi-antenna positioning with a wide coverage area, single-station positioning with simple construction, fusion positioning with strong adaptability, ultra-high-precision deformation monitoring, highly reliable and trustworthy timing, and cost-effective simulators.
With these high-precision and advanced technologies, Azimuth's universal products have been successfully applied in multiple national key projects, including the Chongqing Jiefangbei Underground Ring Road, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel Underwater Tunnel, the Panyu Underground Passage, the Zhuhai Xingye Express Line, and the Beijing East Sixth Ring Underground Expressway. In addition, high-precision and timing products are also widely used in scenarios such as large transportation hubs, exhibition halls, parking lots, ports, shipyards, unmanned aircraft, vehicle testing, substations, communication rooms, autonomous driving, and chemical plants.
However, Azimuth believes that only high-precision and advanced technologies are not enough.
Positioning and timing technology cannot only serve B-end customers. It must move from the B-end to the C-end, enter the public life, and benefit more users.
First, by improving the product matrix and developing products that meet the needs of different scenarios, Azimuth helps customers better control costs and improve cost performance. At the same time, the company is gradually building its own production line and launching chip-based products to further reduce system costs.
Second, establish an ecosystem of indoor and outdoor integrated high-precision positioning to reduce the usage threshold. To this end, Azimuth has developed a dedicated firmware. Any satellite positioning chip only needs to flash the firmware of Azimuth to be upgraded to an indoor and outdoor integrated high-precision positioning chip without changing the hardware and retaining the original functions. This innovation significantly reduces the usage threshold for high-precision users.
In addition, for different user groups, Azimuth plans to provide various high-value services through differentiated positioning.
For B-end customers, Azimuth positions itself as a technology and product supplier. Through cooperation with more project parties, it achieves mutual benefit, allowing all parties to enjoy the inclusive dividends of the indoor and outdoor integrated positioning technology.
For C-end users, Azimuth hopes to learn from the operator's model, first build infrastructure (such as base stations), and then obtain revenue through various value-added services to gradually open the mass market.
Service Capability, Image source: Azimuth
Focusing on Potential Markets
In the previous generation of the Internet wave, LBS (Location-Based Service) enterprises such as Didi and Meituan, relying on users' positioning data, have built a huge business ecosystem. At the same time, Internet map giants such as Gaode, Baidu, and Tencent have also accumulated a massive number of users through navigation services, forming a solid competitive barrier.
Today, high-precision positioning has become the core driving force for multiple high-growth markets: From autonomous driving to the low-altitude economy, to embodied intelligence, the development of these cutting-edge fields is inseparable from precise location service support.
As an indoor and outdoor integrated high-precision positioning supplier, Azimuth is also actively exploring new market opportunities. In the low-altitude economy field, Azimuth has undertaken multiple research projects, aiming to solve the problem of accurate positioning and navigation of unmanned aircraft between urban buildings and ensure low-altitude flight safety. There are also corresponding studies in unmanned driving, digital urban management, and other aspects.
In addition, the company will promote the large-scale application of Beidou indoor and outdoor integrated positioning through cooperation with state-owned enterprises and central enterprises, and actively expand the C-end market to provide low-cost and cost-effective positioning, navigation, and timing services.
The company currently has more than 30 employees, with R & D personnel accounting for 2/3, focusing on the benchmarking of product research and development and solutions. To accelerate market expansion, the company plans to accelerate the financing rhythm and expand the market scale.
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