Youibot raises $47M to develop AMRs

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Youibot offers a large range of versatile AMRs. | Source: Youibot

Youibot, a Chinese producer of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), closed its Series B funding round with more than $47 million raised. Youibot’s robots can be used in factory automation, logistics management, inspection and maintenance for various industries. It said its robots are being used in 26 provinces and cities in China and in 30-plus countries around the world.

The company plans to use the funding to keep up with the rapid growth in demand it’s seen in the AMR market. It hopes to expand to new markets and continue to grow overseas. Eighty percent of Youibot’s revenue comes from China, but international sales are growing.

Youibot claims its robots have a positioning accuracy of ± 2 mm, which would make its robots some of the most accurate in the world.

Youibot’s core AMR technology and software enables the company to design and build AMRs for a specific application. This feature allowed the company to be an early player in the UV-C light disinfection market in 2020, when they released an AMR-based disinfection solution.

Both series in the most recent funding round were led by Fangguang Capital and Xicheng Jinrui. It included participation from IDG Capital, Songhe Capital, SIG Hainer Asia, Blue Run Ventures, SoftBank Ventures Asia, HAX (SOSV Fund) and other shareholders.

The company’s last funding round brought in $15 million and was announced in May of 2021. The round was led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.

“Relying on the deep technical accumulation and inheritance of Xi’an Jiaotong University, the Youai Zhihe team has focused on the field of pan-industrial autonomous mobile robots for many years,” Fangguang Capital founder Qian Yu said. “It has outstanding landing and delivery capabilities and has grown into a leading domestic enterprise in this field.”

Its international customers include Michelin and Hitachi. It’s Chinese clients include CRRC Zhuzhou, a state-owned locomotive manufacturer, and Huaneng Group, a state-owned electricity company.

Youibot was founded in 2016 by a group of PhD graduates from China’s Xi’an Jiaotong University.