Competition and challenges remain

In this dynamic market, there are at least 30 different cobot developers globally with strong market competitiveness, and the competitive landscape has not yet been born with an obvious head.

At present, the main foreign participants include Universal Robots, Techman Robot, FANUC, KUKA, Doosan Robotics, ABB, YASKAWA, Precise Automation, etc. These companies are also optimizing overall spending, increasing productivity and focusing on advanced human-computer interaction technologies, and adopting innovative strategies to maintain their market share.

In this market of possibilities, some very new companies abroad are getting financing fast.

On October 10, German artificial intelligence and Robotics startup NEURA Robotics GmbH announced a new $16 million (€15.1 million) funding round from U.S. private equity firm InterAlpen Partners. The company recently raised $55 million in funding.

Founded in 2019, NEURA Robotics is best known for developing MAiRA, the world’s new collaborative robot that combines artificial intelligence and robotics to “see, hear, and sense touch” to enable autonomous operations, predictive actions, and diverse interactions with humans.

Meanwhile, Niryo, A French collaborative robotics startup, has also raised €6.4 million in Series A funding to expand the development of collaborative robotic arms. The company wants to focus on the educational robot market, develop a series of products for educational professional users and consolidate its market position. The Series A round was led by BPI Digital Venture Investment Fund, Innovacom Investment Fund and four other long-established funds (IRD, Finorpa, NFA and Go Capital). Several banks also participated, supplementing the round with a low-interest loan of €3.6 million to bring the total to €10 million.

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Similarly, some new companies are being born. On October 4, South Korea’s Hanwha Group also announced the establishment of a subsidiary to focus on the development of collaborative robots business. Hanwha holds a 68 percent stake in the maker of collaborative robots, while the other 32 percent is owned by Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, Hanwha’s hotel group. Targeting the new global market for collaborative robots, the new subsidiary will focus on developing autonomous collaborative robots in various fields such as safety and food service, enabling collaborative robots to work with humans to assist Hanwha Hotels and Resorts in cooking, facility management and security.

It can be found that industrial and commercial demands have prompted the collaborative robot market to be on the verge of transformative growth. With the listing of many foreign cooperative robot enterprises, the application prospect of cooperative robot in the commercial field has been paid more and more attention. As cobots continue to evolve and overcome challenges, they are not only reshaping the industrial landscape, but also providing safer, more efficient and cost-effective solutions for companies in diverse industries such as packaging and food, as well as new opportunities for cobots in hospitality and healthcare.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly conversational robots powered by large language models (LLMS), has enabled collaborative robots to self-learn tasks without explicit programming, a programming simplification that could fundamentally reshape the type of work humans will do in the future. Faster reaction times, more precise movement patterns, orientation, the ability to mimic humans, all these aspects contribute to the advancement of collaborative robot development.

Collaborative robots have already taken the first step, and we are witnessing a huge leap forward in the market, and which companies can prioritize the top market share will undoubtedly open a new round of prosperity in digital automation.