Would you buy a robot that costs less than ten thousand?

 

Can robots become a standard in education?

 

On November 26th, Songyan Dynamics announced another round of financing - nearly 200 million yuan in the Pre-B+ round, led by CICC Capital, with Yuntai Capital and Houwei Capital following.

This is already the fifth round of financing news announced by this humanoid robot company within a year. And the last financing information was disclosed on the same day a month ago.

In addition to frequent new moves in the capital market, Songyan Dynamics has also accelerated its pace in commercialization. In June this year, they moved into a new office building and set up a new production line. After two months of ramping up, the production capacity finally stabilized at several hundred units per month. Moreover, they also expanded a large sales team and created a sales model combining direct sales and channel agents.

At the beginning of October, they took their flagship product, the N2 Little Rascal, to the Paris Fashion Week in France. Within a month after that, they launched a smaller-sized robot called "Bumi" (Little Bumi) for children aged 7 - 13. Standing at 94 cm tall and weighing about 12 kg, it is specially designed for accompanying children's growth and educational enlightenment. On October 23rd, 100 units were sold out within an hour of being listed on JD.com, and the first batch of 500 units was sold out within two days, with a price of 9,998 yuan. It is also the world's first small humanoid robot priced under 10,000 yuan.

● The N2 Little Rascal, which became a model at the Paris Fashion Week and thus made it onto "Time Magazine".

This inevitably makes people think of the "small humanoid robot war" that started in the second half of this year. As industry giants have lowered the price of small humanoid robots to start from 39,900 yuan, various manufacturers in the same field have also successively launched robot products in a similar price range, which has attracted a lot of attention and discussion both inside and outside the industry.

This also confirms what Xu Biao, the investment director of Shoucheng Holdings, once said to the "Future Human Laboratory": "The small humanoid (robot) market will be highly competitive from the end of this year to the beginning of next year."

Moreover, small humanoid robots will be the main products for shipment in the period before 2027, with a market size of about one billion yuan per year, according to Xu Biao. After that, the focus will gradually shift from the so - called emotional value attribute to the functional attribute, and large humanoid robots with wheeled arms and two - legs will become the main products for shipment.

So, whether intentionally or not, many humanoid robot companies will inevitably be involved in this competition.

However, Jiang Zheyuan, the founder and chairman of Songyan Dynamics, doesn't think his company needs to get involved in the intense competition. Especially with the launch of Little Bumi, the gimmick of a humanoid robot priced under 10,000 yuan is indeed shocking, and it's inevitable that there are many speculations from the outside world. But in Jiang Zheyuan's view, they have found a broader application scenario or market that was previously hidden - such as primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in underdeveloped areas.

According to Jiang Zheyuan, when robots cost tens of thousands of yuan each, only a few top - tier schools and kindergartens in each region across the country could afford them, and the number was very limited. But when he brought the price of robots into the 10,000 - yuan price range, it can unlock the demand of the remaining 80% of schools. Obviously, this is a much bigger business and a broader vision. "We hope that those who want to use robots but couldn't afford them before can now afford them, and we can make money. That would be great."

Meanwhile, Songyan Dynamics has also reached a strategic cooperation with "Programming Cat", the leading company in programming education, to build a forward - looking "Humanoid Robot Programming Education Laboratory". Songyan Dynamics will use its humanoid robot products as the core platform and fully integrate with Programming Cat's channel network covering more than 70,000 primary and secondary schools across the country, its mature K12 programming curriculum system, and its user base of over 43 million.

Jiang Zheyuan has always been pragmatic. From the very beginning of starting the business, he aimed at commercialization. "In history, no enterprise has succeeded without good commercialization, right?"

● The price of Little Bumi

Xu Biao's Shoucheng Holdings prefers to invest in companies that are led by full - time leaders, have products, can make deliveries, and are running continuously towards the end - goal while also being able to "reap rewards along the way" in the field of robot investment.

Moreover, Songyan Dynamics has already achieved this year's sales target, and now the focus is on delivery. "Songyan is a project with high potential, and Zheyuan is a person with high potential. He is constantly evolving," said Xu Biao.

Recently, the "Future Human Laboratory" had a long conversation with Jiang Zheyuan. The following is the content of the conversation, published after being sorted out:

 

A larger customer base

Future Human Laboratory: After Little Bumi brought the price under 10,000 yuan, what's the market reaction?

Jiang Zheyuan: Recently, I've been communicating with some partners, and I find it very interesting. How many schools and kindergartens are there in China? There should be about six or seven hundred thousand in total (according to the statistics of the Ministry of Education, in 2024, there were 470,000 schools of all levels and 253,300 kindergartens across the country). This shows a very obvious long - tail distribution. Previously, with robots costing tens of thousands of yuan each, only a few top - tier schools in each county could afford them. These are just the tip of the iceberg, and there is a much broader long - tail market hidden beneath. When we sell robots for under 10,000 yuan, we've unlocked this long - tail market.

We sell robots to schools for 9,998 yuan, and we definitely want to make a profit. They can also see humanoid robots, and our market has been greatly expanded. You can do the math. There are about 700,000 schools and kindergartens in China. If each school buys one, that's 7 billion yuan. But if I sell each robot for 100,000 yuan and only sell to 1,000 schools, that's only 100 million yuan. That's a 70 - fold difference. By lowering the price, we've expanded our market space and also the long - tail market of Chinese education.

We didn't lower the price just to grab a small market for performances. How big can that market be, right? We hope to create some new opportunities so that those who want to use robots but couldn't afford them before can now afford them, and we can make money. That would be great.

Future Human Laboratory: Is the cooperation with Programming Cat also based on this idea?

Jiang Zheyuan: Programming Cat covers about 70,000 primary and secondary schools in China. Their logic is to promote programming education, which overlaps with what we're doing to some extent. Moreover, they have strong channel relationships and customer resources and have also noticed some groups that have been overlooked. We hope that through our cooperation, we can jointly promote robots to more primary and secondary schools in China.

Future Human Laboratory: Did you focus on this market first and then develop Little Bumi, or the other way around?

Jiang Zheyuan: We've always wanted to enter the education market because we think there are great opportunities there, but we didn't fully figure out how to do it before. After going to Paris, France, especially the on - site interaction with children, gave us some inspiration at the product level. For example, within five minutes after the robot got off the vehicle, there would always be more than 100 people gathering around. Adults would think the robot was cool and cute and would come forward to shake hands and pat its head. But children would be scared when the robot approached and would hide behind their parents. This is the core reason why we made it shorter. For children about one - meter tall, a robot that is similar in height or even taller naturally brings a sense of oppression and threat.

Before robots can achieve ultimate scenarios such as serving tea, pouring water, doing laundry, and cooking, we can first bring emotional value to people. We're making it a high - tech playmate and a programming teaching tool, a high - tech toy that can stimulate children's interest in programming and accompany them in sports.

We originally planned two scenarios for Little Bumi. One is for the C - end, entering families with children, and the other is for the B - end, targeting schools. Now, we've expanded the B - end's sinking market, which may be 10 times the previous volume, and there is actually a huge demand for robots in the C - end market, which may be 100 times or even 1000 times larger than the B - end market. We've suddenly expanded our customer base to a huge market.

Future Human Laboratory: How did you manage to compress the price of a robot product under 10,000 yuan?

Jiang Zheyuan: In essence, humanoid robots are made of plastic, aluminum, iron, copper wires, magnets, and chips. They shouldn't be that expensive. Our team has comprehensively optimized the structural design of "Little Bumi". Except for using metal to reinforce some parts, a large amount of composite materials are used in other places. On the premise of ensuring the core strength, we've achieved an ultimate lightweight design of 12 kg. The reduction in weight can further drive down the cost, forming a virtuous cycle.

Future Human Laboratory: I remember that after the limited - time price of your previous N2 was 39,900 yuan, it was adjusted back to over 60,000 yuan. Has there been an adjustment in the competition strategy? Because since the beginning of this year, after humanoid robots have been gradually launched, the prices have dropped a lot.

Jiang Zheyuan: Yes, it's over 60,000 yuan.

Now, we combine channel sales and direct sales. Since the channel hasn't fully covered the market, we still need to do a lot of direct sales. Direct sales are about creating benchmark cases in some scenarios, such as K12 education, which is the main area we're expanding in. On September 4th, the first day of school, we went to the opening ceremonies of six different schools in Beijing. For example, we demonstrated broadcast gymnastics for everyone. These are all our benchmark cases. Then we summarize them into a sales toolkit to train channel partners, such as in what scenarios the products can be sold and how to use them. The channel is about replicating these cases in large quantities.

● N2 made an appearance at the opening ceremony

Future Human Laboratory: How do you compete for channels?

Jiang Zheyuan: We held an ecological conference on May 11th, inviting channel partners here for a presentation and on - site product pick - up. After this conference, we received a lot of orders. Channel partners are mainly about matching products with scenarios. This product is new, but those scenarios are not. Education and cultural tourism are old scenarios. So, we're looking for channel partners with advantages in scenario resources.

 

All - out attack

Future Human Laboratory: What are your main tasks this year?

Jiang Zheyuan: Financing, expansion, and commercialization.

The most important thing is commercialization. How to make these orders flow, make our agents active, continuously bring in orders, and then make deliveries. Continuous commercialization ability is what I'm more concerned about.

Future Human Laboratory: I know you're expanding your sales team. Is this really necessary?

Jiang Zheyuan: I think it's necessary. We're fully aware of how fierce the competition will be next year.

Future Human Laboratory: What industries did your sales team members come from before?

Jiang Zheyuan: They come from various industries, including the robot industry, education, teaching aids sales, cultural tourism, and even roller - coaster sales. They have resources in their hands.

Future Human Laboratory: Where will the main competition scenarios be next year?

Jiang Zheyuan: In China, it's education; overseas, it's scientific research. This year, we're developing consumer - grade products, including humanoid robots of various sizes. Our products are in an all - out attack state now.

Future Human Laboratory: Why do you cover such a wide range?