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"Vanxun Technology" has consecutively received nearly 200 million yuan in Series A financing, accelerating the multi-scenario large-scale application of intelligent flexible robots. | HardcoreTech Exclusive

黄 楠2024-12-16 14:00
Intelligent robots with high adaptability and low cost.

Author|Huang Nan

Editor|Yuan Silai

Hardcore Ke learned that Wanxun Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Wanxun Technology") has recently completed a series of financing rounds of nearly 200 million yuan in Series A, A+, and A2. The Series A round was led by Haochen Capital, with BlueRun Ventures and Shunwei Capital fully following the investment; the A+ round was led by Beijing Robotics Fund, with BlueRun Ventures fully following the investment; the A2 round was led by Yuantai Fund, with Dehu Capital participating. Gengxin Capital and Wanshi Capital jointly served as the financial advisors for the Series A financing rounds.

The funds will be used for investment in core technology research and development, as well as the popularization and application of flexible robots in more markets, industries, and scenarios globally.

"Wanxun Technology" was established in 2019. The company pioneered the universal soft robot technology - Pliabot® flexible technology, which uses soft material bionic muscles and neuron intelligence to replicate the flexible characteristics of human muscles. Compared with traditional robot technology, it has high adaptability, high load-bearing ratio, high environmental resistance, safe interaction, and cost advantages, creating safe, dexterous, lightweight, strong, and affordable robot products and solutions for various application scenarios.

Flexible Technology and Products (Image Source/Official)

Currently, in addition to the traditional application directions such as industrial manufacturing and special services, more and more industries and scenarios urgently need intelligent robots to achieve large-scale applications, bringing more competitive productivity and comprehensive experience. Solving the two bottlenecks of "adaptability" and "cost" has become an inevitable proposition. Emerging from the common standardized and non-random operating scenarios such as industrial manufacturing, it can not only cope with the complex, diverse, and constantly changing environments and needs in daily life but also provide the cost advantages required for large-scale popularization and application.

Facing the two core demands of high adaptability and low cost, compared with the rigid robot technology based on motor joints, metal materials, complex sensors, and tight processing technology that is commonly used at this stage, soft robot technology is regarded as the core underlying technology of the next-generation robot.

Soft robot technology, through the use of soft materials and gas/liquid drive, has the advantages of being lightweight, flexible, safe for interaction, and easy to deform. It is more suitable for complex and changeable scenarios with a large number of interactions between humans and the environment, and is an ideal choice for the popularization and application of robots in more industries and scenarios, especially service scenarios. Currently, a few companies worldwide have achieved commercial applications of soft robot technology, mostly in the fields of industrial grasping and medical rehabilitation.

Insight into the strong demand for robot empowerment in industries and scenarios, based on more than ten years of accumulation of the core technology of soft robots, "Wanxun Technology" takes the widespread application of soft robot technology as the breakthrough path, pioneered the Pliabot® flexible technology, and combines the development of the technology platform to make it have a strong cross-industry and cross-scenario empowerment application attribute. At the same time, based on the "flexible muscle + neuron intelligence" double-helix drive mode, the Pliabot® flexible technology also conducts full-stack innovation in the robot body and intelligent system. At present, hundreds of intellectual property rights have been applied for, and more than 200 of them have been authorized.

Highly similar to the human nervous system, the Pliabot® flexible technology is based on the underlying neuron intelligence throughout the flexible muscles, connecting and supporting the cerebellum-brain AI and cloud intelligence to form a complete intelligent system. It does not require complex force sensors and vision systems and has the ability of self-perception and precise control of the body.

Based on the multi-modal embodied intelligent algorithm and scene data capability, combined with the new bionic architecture of flexible muscles, joints, arms, and systems, the Pliabot® flexible technology can combine various end-effector tools and mobile chassis, elevators, assembly lines, wearable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, and robot dogs, humanoid robots, and other different vehicle platforms. While taking into account the long-term evolution of the robot form, it can flexibly meet the practical and large-scale application needs of different fields, industries, and scenarios such as high-altitude operations, new energy intelligent driving, industrial manufacturing, commercial services, and home services.

For example, the "Orion" series of aerial flexible robots of "Wanxun Technology" creatively integrates the flexible arm and flexible joint with DJI drones, and is natively adapted to its light-load/heavy-load multi-series models, creating the "aerial precise operation" track. It has launched four product lines of precise operation, flexible spraying, active release, and contact detection, improving quality, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency for multiple scenarios such as high-altitude cleaning and energy operation and maintenance.

Its original "Qilin" flexible automatic charging robot, based on a unique technical route, has high performance and cost advantages, and can be applied to large-scale commercial deployment. Currently, the progress of commercial deployment is continuously accelerating.

Flight Operation Landing Scene (Image Source/Official)

In terms of business, the core components of the flexible robots of "Wanxun Technology" are the earliest to be mass-produced and shipped globally. Various soft robots based on the Pliabot® flexible technology have been applied in complex operating scenarios in multiple industries such as high-altitude cleaning, intelligent driving charging, energy operation and maintenance, emergency rescue, and environmental protection. The customers cover more than 100 countries, regions, and cities in Europe, America, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and other regions. Recently, it will participate in the 2025 CES with the characteristics of the Pliabot® flexible technology and the main business line products.

In the next stage, "Wanxun Technology" will continue to focus on the role of universal soft robot technology in promoting the popularization and application of robots and embodied intelligence, focus on the further implementation and expansion of the existing key business lines, especially the aerial precise operation and automatic charging in the global market, and continuously promote the iteration of the underlying core technology and the exploration of various new forms and new scenarios.

Automatic Charging Landing Scene (Image Source/Official)

Investor Views:

Tang Tao, Founding Partner of Haochen Capital said that Haochen Capital is deeply engaged in the robot industry. Wanxun Technology is another important layout of Haochen in the service robot field. Through the first original flexible arm, it enables service robots to have a safer interactive experience and is suitable for the large-scale landing of B-end/C-end scenarios. It is also expected that the products will empower multiple service fields such as humanoid robots, public services, power operation and maintenance, and smart parks.

Ye Qian, Executive Member of Shouchang Holdings and President of Shouchang Capital said that the Beijing Robotics Fund is jointly managed by Jingguorui Fund and Shouchang Capital under Shougang Fund. Its mission is to discover and empower a group of truly innovative and technologically strong high-quality enterprises to land and develop in Beijing, helping to build a new engine of new-quality productivity in Beijing. Investing in Wanxun Technology is an important investment layout of the fund in the field of robot underlying frontier technology, which will fully assist the company to become a 'Robot +' application demonstration benchmark.

Yuantai Fund said that Yuantai has long been optimistic about investment opportunities in the advanced manufacturing and robot sectors, and is committed to finding the best entrepreneurs and scientists in related fields. We are optimistic about Wanxun Technology's years of R & D accumulation and technological breakthroughs in universal soft robots, especially the flexible arm technology. Its unique pneumatic flexible arm solution has significant advantages in terms of safety, flexibility, and economy, and has broad application prospects in commercial fields such as industry and service in the future.

Dehu Investment said that the founder of Wanxun Technology began to engage with soft robot technology when conducting research at Harvard. The core team has been deeply engaged in the sub-field for more than ten years, accumulating profound knowledge and experience. The technology is mature and has extremely high conditions in application conversion, laying a solid foundation for its rapid development in the market. As a shareholder, we are full of confidence in the company's future prospects.

BlueRun Ventures said that the products and technologies of Wanxun Technology are in a leading position in the field of soft robots. The self-developed core module and algorithm combined with the material-side R & D breakthrough have greatly improved the working condition adaptability, service life, operation accuracy, and convenience; at the same time, the products based on the unique underlying capabilities have been widely recognized by the global industry and have become the core partners of multiple industrial customers. We are optimistic about the development potential of flexible robots in the global market.