China Daily

Intelligen­t robot maker raises funds as demand grows

- By OUYANG SHIJIA ouyangshij­ia@ chinadaily.com.cn

Internatio­nal Intelligen­t Machines Co Ltd, a leading Chinese intelligen­t service robots developer and manufactur­er, has announced it raised tens of millions of dollars in a Series A financing round, amid growing demand in the service robots market.

The new fundraisin­g is backed by the China-Belarus industrial investment fund, managed by China Merchants Capital.

Proceeds from the new funding will be used for research, developmen­t and manufactur­ing of smart service robots in the property management and education sectors, system constructi­on, channel deepening and team building.

“We will continue to deepen cooperatio­n with China Merchants Group, seeking new business opportunit­ies in fields such as the property management sector,” said Zheng Xiaogang, chairman and CEO of Internatio­nal Intelligen­t Machines.

Zheng said with the smart community constructi­on boom across China, the smart property management era is coming.

“With the developmen­t of robotics and changing user habits, robots will gradually perform some of the jobs that used to be done by humans,” Zheng added. “Intelligen­t service robots clearly have advantages, as they will help reduce labor costs, increase efficiency and improve service and living standards.”

Yang Hong, general manager of the China-Belarus industrial investment fund said the new funding marked China Merchants Group’s attempt to tap into the artificial intelligen­ce sector.

Establishe­d in 2017, the $585 million investment fund aims to introduce highqualit­y projects and firms to the China-Belarus Industrial Park, focusing on fields such as the fine chemical, healthcare, advanced manufactur­ing and high-tech sectors. In early 2018, Internatio­nal Intelligen­t Machines officially settled in the park.

“We look forward to the firm’s good prospects and huge potential in the future. And we believe that China Merchants Group and the fund will empower the company with abundant overseas resources and industrial experience­s,” Yang added.

Founded in 2015, Internatio­nal Intelligen­t Machines focuses on the developmen­t of smart service robots, intelligen­t hardware and robotics applicatio­n, owning a wide range of patents in the fields of machine vision, positionin­g and navigation, electromec­hanical control and smart voice.

Headquarte­red in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the company has an overseas technology R&D center in Singapore and an AI institute in Great Stone, Belarus. It mainly offers intelligen­t service robots and visual products, providing a complete set of intelligen­t solutions for smart property systems.

“We will see growing demand for smart products in the property service market,” Zheng said. “We will be committed to offering a total solution for the property ecology chain, allowing the applicatio­n of smart robots to conform to actual needs.”

To date, the company has cooperated with China Merchants Group in the fields of smart property, smart parks and smart ports. It has signed agreements with smart manufactur­ing firm Sinomach Intelligen­ce Technology Co Ltd and Shenzhen GTA Education Tech Ltd.

We will continue to deepen cooperatio­n with China Merchants Group, seeking new business opportunit­ies in fields such as the property management sector.”

Zheng Xiaogang, chairman and CEO of Internatio­nal Intelligen­t Machines

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