Feng Hua, a partner of Songhe Capital, said that in recent years, under the wave of new infrastructure and intelligent manufacturing, the financing boom in the field of industrial robots is directly transmitted from the demand side. Songhe Capital mainly invests in early-stage and growth-stage enterprises in the field of digital technology, and has participated in the investment of industrial mobile robot manufacturer Youai Zhihe and high-precision positioning technology company Daoyuan Electronics.

It is worth mentioning that compared with other categories of industrial robots, drones received the highest single financing amount.

United Aircraft, a provider of UAV equipment and overall solutions, completed a series D financing of RMB 2 billion and a series D+ financing of RMB 1.2 billion respectively in the first half of 2023; The investors of the D round financing are the National Manufacturing Fund, Chengdu Chongcheng Qingyue Fund, Anhui Quantum Fund, Cornerstone Capital, Xingtou Holding and other institutions. The D+ round financing is led by Longjiang Fund, followed by United Keli Venture Capital, Forest Industry Investment, Longjiang Venture Capital, Keli Investment, Ha Venture Capital Group, Gongchuang Venture Capital and other investors. Founded in 2014, the company has more than 20 products, mainly providing drones, ground equipment, airborne equipment, rotor blades and composite products, which are used in logistics and transportation, public security law enforcement, border and coastal defense inspection, power inspection and oil and gas industry.

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United Aircraft Drone products

Looking at the international market, overseas UAV companies are also widely sought after by investors: In the first half of 2023, cargo drone company DRONAMICS received $40 million in angel round financing, industrial heavy drone research and development company Aerones received $39 million in series A financing, mapping drone developer Wingtra received $22 million in Series B financing, Short-range surveillance drone company Skydio has raised $230 million in Series E funding.

Feng Hua said that compared with the financing heat, whether the product can land and bring real value to customers is more critical.

To further enhance the use value, the development focus of industrial robots is still in motion control technology, system control technology, etc., relying on AI to make products develop in the direction of intelligence, refinement, flexibility, and platform.

The application field of industrial robots will also be fully rolled out with the development of technology. In January 2023, in the “Robot +” application action Implementation Plan issued by 17 departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it was proposed that it should focus on 10 major areas such as manufacturing, construction, and energy to accelerate the application development of intelligent robots. “2023 China Industrial Robot Industry Research Report” believes that in the future, the main application industries of industrial robots are still automobile manufacturing, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing; The new market is concentrated in lithium battery, photovoltaic manufacturing and other industries. In addition, manufacturing industries such as aerospace and home appliance manufacturing also have great application potential.