The World's Smallest Electric Cylinder is Born: A Startup by the Former Valeo Team, with Investments of Over 100 Million Yuan from SAIC and Others | Exclusive Report by 36Kr

Author: Ou Xue

Editor: Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that NOUSBOT, a supplier of precision transmission components, recently completed a Series A financing round of over 100 million RMB.

This round of financing was led by Shanghai Semiconductor Industry Investment, with Lenovo Venture Capital and Amber Capital participating. Listed companies in the automotive industry chain, Kailai Electromechanical and Pengling Co., Ltd., made strategic investments, and the old shareholder SAIC Financial Holdings continued to increase its stake. The funds will be used for capacity expansion, technological R & D iteration, and market expansion.

NOUSBOT was established in July 2023 and focuses on the R & D and mass production of planetary roller screws and micro linear actuators.

Regarding the team background, Professor Xu Genlin, the company's technical advisor, is a retired professor from Shanghai University and has been deeply involved in the field of mechanical manufacturing for over 50 years. Xu Yang, the founder of the company, graduated from Tongji University with a master's degree and once served as the head of the R & D department of the Asia - Pacific R & D Center of Valeo Group, a leading French automobile company. Co - founder Wang Xiaobin once served as the deputy general manager of a Valeo Group branch. Most of the entire senior management team comes from Valeo.

The planetary roller screw is the core component of linear transmission, and its miniaturization is a technological high - ground in the field of precision machinery manufacturing. The core breakthrough of NOUSBOT lies in making the planetary roller screw the smallest in the world - with a diameter of only 1.5mm and a nut diameter of 5.5mm, it can stably output a load force of 10kg and has a service life of over 3 million times.

In addition, the company further integrates brushless motors and non - contact sensors to create the world's smallest integrated micro linear electric cylinder. This breakthrough enables the dexterous hand of humanoid robots to have the ability of independent finger drive, high response, and large load for the first time, and can complete delicate operations such as pinching pills, turning keys, and tying shoelaces.

"Our label is the world's smallest electric cylinder and the electric cylinder with the greatest force in the same volume," Xu Yang, the founder of NOUSBOT, further explained the differential advantages to Yingke. "If everyone makes them the same size, my force will be 4 to 5 times that of others. The deeper meaning of increasing the force is the service life and durability."

PWB08Z - 2.5 - 10 Micro Planetary Roller Electric Cylinder for the Thumb of the Dexterous Hand (Source: The Company)

More notably, NOUSBOT has increased the production efficiency by 10 times through fully self - developed processes and locked the unit price of micro planetary roller screws within 100 yuan, a decrease of two orders of magnitude compared to the current market sample price. Xu Yang said that this is due to the company's solid industrial foundation, mature manufacturing capabilities, and processes.

According to Xu Yang, the company's 1.5mm linear joint solution has been adopted by leading domestic humanoid robot manufacturers as the core execution unit for the new generation of models, and the company is jointly developing standardized modules with several leading companies focusing on dexterous hand technology.

Meanwhile, NOUSBOT has also entered the automotive by - wire chassis market with the same technology platform. The company is cooperating with several core Tier 1 suppliers of vehicle manufacturers to develop roller screws for rear - wheel steering systems and participating in the project of zero - gravity seat actuators for intelligent cockpits.

Xu Yang revealed that with the order empowerment from industrial capital such as SAIC, the company's automotive business and robot business currently account for about 50% each, forming a dual - engine driving pattern of "humanoid robots + automobiles".

"It will still take time for humanoid robots to be truly commercially launched. The automotive business will bring greater stability to the company. Whether we can bind a group of the most potential customers in the elimination round is an ability that the team needs to predict in advance," Xu Yang said. Many applications in the automotive field are technological upgrades, and customers are waiting for new - generation products to solve problems such as noise and failure in existing solutions. However, the company's focus is still on the robot field, and the demand for robots is being rapidly released.

In terms of future R & D, the company plans to develop more varieties this year, invest in a vehicle - grade testing laboratory, and continue to deepen its efforts in the two directions of accuracy and service life.

The specific technological iteration mainly focuses on two directions: one is to develop in the direction of high precision because the precision requirements of humanoid robots are higher than those of automobiles; the other is to further improve the service life because the risk of failure increases after volume compression, and this part needs in - depth exploration.

Views of the Investors:

The Shanghai Semiconductor Industry Investment team believes: We are optimistic about the direction of embodied robots and believe that components are the cornerstone of the entire industry. NOUSBOT is working on the core component of embodied robots, the planetary roller screw, which has excellent application prospects in high - load scenarios and high technological barriers. Currently, the pain point in the industry is that the existing grinding process equipment has high costs and low processing efficiency, and high - precision processing equipment is highly dependent on imports. NOUSBOT has developed a special processing process with more than 30 years of experience in industry - university - research cooperation, which has significantly increased production efficiency and cost advantages have begun to emerge. Many companies in the industry that claim to be able to produce planetary roller screws for embodied robots actually do not have the mass - production capacity. At the same time, the company has locked in some leading embodied robot and dexterous hand companies and is at the forefront of the industry in terms of commercialization. The company also has products in the industrial equipment and vehicle - grade directions, especially in the vehicle - grade direction, which may see significant growth. We believe that NOUSBOT has strong scarcity in the industry and has good prospects.

The SAIC Financial Holdings investment team believes: This additional investment in NOUSBOT is based on our in - depth research and judgment of the humanoid robot industry and our emphasis on the huge synergy potential shown in the reuse of key components between this field and the automotive industry chain. NOUSBOT has a solid 30 - year technological foundation, and its product line fully covers traditional screws, planetary roller screws, and micro electric cylinders, which have been widely used in high - growth fields such as automotive tailgate struts, by - wire braking, and robot dexterous hands. We believe that this investment will strengthen the partnership between the two sides, jointly seize the window period of industrial synergy and technological integration, drive the accelerated implementation of innovation, and achieve long - term win - win results.