Aoyi Technology Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Series B++ Round Financing, and Its Second-generation Dexterous Hand Is Set to Hit the Market | Exclusive Report by 36Kr

Text by | Hu Xiangyun

Edited by | Hai Ruojing

36Kr learned that "Aoyi Technology" recently completed a nearly 100 million yuan Series B++ financing round. This round of financing was jointly invested by Infinity Capital, Zhejiang Development Asset Management Co., Ltd. under Zhejiang State-owned Capital Operation Co., Ltd., and Womeida Capital. Shengkejiji Capital served as the long-term financial advisor.

It is understood that this is also a new round of financing quickly completed by Aoyi Technology within three months after the 100 million yuan-level Series B+ financing at the beginning of this year. The funds raised in this round will be used to accelerate R & D investment in the field of dexterous hand technology, promote the launch process of new products, as well as capacity building and market expansion.

Aoyi Technology was founded in 2015, focusing on the R & D of robot and brain science technologies, and has built an independent R & D platform integrating "robot - AI algorithm - neural interface".

Currently, Aoyi Technology has several hand-shaped robot products on the market, including three major categories of core products: the ROhand series of dexterous hands for embodied robots and industrial automation scenarios, the OHand™ intelligent bionic hand for amputees, and the finger joint exoskeleton products for hand movement disorders caused by neurological function damage.

Ni Hualiang, the founder of Aoyi Technology, said that in the development of hand-shaped robot products, whether in the embodied or medical scenarios, in addition to the requirements for system parameters and system stability, cost is also an important issue that needs to be taken into account. This is also the reason why the company has been striving to find the "lowest-cost solution" different from high-priced overseas products through self-developed algorithms and core components since its establishment.

Taking the OHand™ intelligent bionic hand as an example, this product is mainly targeted at amputees. It uses core technologies such as the company's self-developed non-invasive electromyographic neural signal sensor array, and can actively and naturally switch by perceiving the user's gesture intentions, simulating basic hand movements such as side grip, side pinch, pointing, holding, and lifting.

"To be honest, the bionic hand market is not a consumer upgrade market, which means that the payment ability of the target users is limited. Therefore, we first reduced the price of a bionic hand to less than 100,000 yuan through the localization of core technologies. On the sales side, in addition to traditional distributors, we have applied to be included in the centralized procurement list of Shanghai Disabled Persons' Federation subsidies, with a reimbursement ratio of nearly 90%, becoming one of the few high-end intelligent assistive devices subsidized by the China Disabled Persons' Federation. Currently, with the implementation in Shanghai, other provinces and cities, including Zhejiang, have also begun to gradually expand this model." Ni Hualiang introduced.

Illustration of Aoyi Technology's OHand™ intelligent bionic hand

Meanwhile, with its cost advantage, the overseas expansion plan of the OHand™ intelligent bionic hand is also in progress. The product has obtained the US FDA and EU CE certifications, and received the US PDAC commercial insurance payment code in 2024. It has now been commercialized in many countries and regions such as the United States, the Middle East, Russia, and India.

Ni Hualiang revealed that since last year, the company's overall overseas revenue has exceeded its domestic revenue.

The ROhand series of dexterous hand products mainly serve enterprise customers in the field of embodied robots. Since there is no need to connect to a neural interface like when installed on a human body, the R & D of dexterous hands is equivalent to "subtracting" from the basis of bionic hands.

It is reported that Aoyi Technology's first-generation dexterous hand, ROHand, is a highly sensitive robot end effector with 6 active degrees of freedom and 5 passive degrees of freedom, a total of 11 DOF. In terms of appearance and structural design, the company chose the size and proportion closest to that of a human hand. In addition, a single finger of the ROHand dexterous hand can carry a maximum load of 10KG, and the whole hand can carry a load of 30KG, which can cover the use of multiple complex scenarios in the field of embodied robots.

Information provided by Aoyi Technology shows that the dexterous hand has also achieved a balance among the "cost - system parameters - stability" impossible triangle. After the official launch of ROHand in October 2024, it has entered the supplier systems of many robot companies, including several overseas embodied intelligence companies. "In terms of shipment volume, we have ranked among the first echelon of domestic dexterous hands." Ni Hualiang introduced.

Illustration of the application of Aoyi Technology's dexterous hand in the field of embodied robots

In addition, for the neural rehabilitation scenario, Aoyi Technology has also developed a finger joint exoskeleton robot product for the rehabilitation training of people with hand function disorders. Currently, this product has obtained the fast-track approval channel for innovative medical devices. At present, the product is undergoing relevant clinical research for two indications: hand function disorders caused by stroke and peripheral nerve injury.

Ni Hualiang said that currently, the company is vigorously promoting product iteration and global market expansion, and plans to launch two newly upgraded dexterous hand products this year. Among them, the new second-generation dexterous hand will have tactile and other sensing capabilities and is expected to be officially launched this month.