With self-developed multi-modal tactile sensing technology, "Modulus Technology" secures tens of millions in angel round financing | Exclusive from 36Kr
Text | Zhang Zhuoqian
Editor | Yuan Silai
36Kr learned that Shenzhen Modulus Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Modulus Technology") announced the completion of a multi - million - level angel round of financing invested by Dening Capital, with Beishen Capital serving as the long - term advisor. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used for product R & D, market promotion, and team building.
Founded at the end of 2024, "Modulus Technology" is a technology company focusing on the R & D and application of multi - modal multi - dimensional force tactile sensing technology and tactile models. Its products include robot tactile sensors, industrial pressure distribution detection devices, fabric - based flexible sensors, and flexible thin - film sensors. The products are widely used in fields such as robot tactile sensing, industrial inspection (new energy, 3C manufacturing), consumer electronics, and medical health.
Self - developed technology of "Modulus Technology"
Driven by the boom in consumer electronics (smart wearables, VR/AR), medical health (prosthetics, surgical robots), industrial automation (dexterous hands, intelligent inspection), and the emerging humanoid robot industry, the global tactile sensor and flexible sensor market is in a period of rapid development. Technological iteration and downstream application expansion have continuously boosted the demand.
Guo Hua, the founder of "Modulus Technology", told 36Kr that the robot tactile industry is currently in its early stage, with inconsistent technical routes and low product standardization, resulting in high customization requirements, which in turn increase R & D and production costs. At the same time, most traditional industrial inspection methods rely on manual observation and judgment. For example, using pressure - sensitive paper to detect pressure distribution has problems such as large human errors and the inability to monitor process pressure data in real - time.
In response to the core problems commonly existing in the flexible sensing industry, such as insufficient measurement range, limited sensitivity, and large temperature drift interference, "Modulus Technology" starts from the material end and independently develops high - sensitivity sensitive materials and micro - structure processes. By using high - pressure - resistant elastomers + micro - structure design, it has significantly improved the measurement range, accuracy, and sensitivity of the sensors. "Our micro - structure design is a bit like a sponge," Guo Hua explained. "It can effectively expand the sensitivity and detection range of the sensor and enhance its adaptability to different pressure scenarios. Currently, our maximum pressure measurement range can reach 20 MPa, and the linearity has reached 99.9%."
Moreover, "Modulus Technology" has also established a multi - dimensional tactile perception link. It has built tactile models for material recognition and posture judgment around algorithms for three - dimensional force, tangential force, and friction force, enabling robots and dexterous hands to achieve more diverse and accurate perception capabilities. Based on the bionic mechanical decoupling architecture and orthogonal nano - crack electrode design, it can accurately analyze the normal force and tangential force on the flexible substrate, with cross - interference in all directions < 10%. In addition, the company has built a full - stack R & D capability from sensor materials, hardware, algorithms to systems, and has realized a complete set of toolchains for sensor data acquisition, calibration, and software analysis, which is convenient for customers to use and develop applications.
"Our self - developed temperature self - compensation sensitive material technology has achieved integrated pressure - temperature dual - mode perception, which can fundamentally improve the environmental stability of the sensor, a long - standing problem in the industry," Guo Hua introduced. "Based on our self - developed new micro - nano three - dimensional printing technology with functional material doping, we have achieved low - cost, mass - manufacturable flexible pressure sensing arrays. This means that in terms of performance, we are comparable to international competitors and even lead in some indicators, and we also have a great advantage in product cost and price."
Currently, the core products of "Modulus Technology" mainly include robot tactile sensors and industrial pressure distribution detection devices. In the field of robot tactile sensors, the products are divided into the S series for multi - point array pressure perception, the T series for three - dimensional force multi - point array pressure perception, and the M series for multi - modal pressure perception. These products mainly serve embodied intelligence enterprises, including customers of humanoid robots, dexterous hands, and robotic arms. In the field of industrial pressure distribution monitoring, the company provides real - time digital solutions for pressure distribution detection in industrial production for industries such as lithium - battery, energy storage, and 3C (mobile phones, watches, smart glasses, liquid - crystal displays). In addition, "Modulus Technology" is also committed to the R & D of fabric - based flexible sensors for applications in intelligent cockpits, smart mattresses, smart pillows, and smart clothing.
On the supply chain side, "Modulus Technology" has completed the verification from small - scale to large - scale production and has built the ability to deliver products in large quantities and stably. It is expected that the order amount this year will reach tens of millions of yuan. The company has established cooperation with leading customers in multiple fields such as robots, dexterous hands, and industrial customers, and the products have begun to be delivered in batches.
The current team of "Modulus Technology" has nearly 20 people, with R & D personnel accounting for more than 80%, covering key fields such as algorithms, hardware, software, and sensors. The founder, Guo Hua, has worked in a smart wearable listed company on the New York Stock Exchange and has been deeply involved in strategic cooperation and investment in supply - chain chips, sensors, and smart hardware. He has rich resources and experience in technology transfer in the upstream and downstream of the hardware product, consumer electronics, and 3C manufacturing industry chains. Co - founder Zhou Jianlin has a background in engineering master's degree and is familiar with industries such as polymer materials, electronic inks, consumer electronics, and mechanical equipment. He has served as the vice - president of a well - known 3D printing company, responsible for product introduction, business expansion, marketing, and internal management. Co - founder Gao Libo graduated from the City University of Hong Kong with a doctorate and is currently an associate professor and doctoral supervisor at Xiamen University, with more than a decade of experience in flexible sensor research and application.
Views from the investor:
He Jianwen, the founding partner of Dening Capital, said, "Robot tactile sensors are important components for robots to directly perceive the external environment and are one of the core sensors for robots to achieve dexterous operations, with indispensable value. At the same time, electronic skin can gradually cover the whole body of robots in the future, and the product application value is very high. Among various sensors, tactile sensors are currently the least widely used, and there is no particularly large industry giant yet, but the future potential is huge. We are optimistic that large companies will emerge in the tactile sensor field in the future. The tactile sensor products of Modulus Technology are not only widely used in the fields of humanoid robots and dexterous hands but also have developed manufacturing scenarios in 3C and new energy, with a high development ceiling.
The integration of multi - modal sensors and the AI - model - driven intelligence of sensors are the future trends in the sensor industry. The business development direction of Modulus Technology is in line with our judgment of future trends. At the same time, the tactile sensor field is an interdisciplinary area that requires a team with cross - disciplinary professional backgrounds. Modulus Technology has a core team in polymer materials, electronic engineering, signal processing, software algorithms, etc., and is also rich in experience in product engineering and mass production. It can introduce commercial customer orders in the short term, which fully verifies the capabilities of the core team."