Stanford University robotics startup Flexiv has landed a $100 million funding round that could allow it to expand the markets for its “general purpose” robots from manufacturing to logistics and other sectors, the firm said Thursday.
The “series B” round was backed by the venture firms Meituan, Meta Capital, New Hope Group, Longwood, YF Capital, Gaorong Capital, GSR Ventures, and Plug and Play. It follows a $22 million round in 2019.
"The strategic funding from leading companies and funds in various industries will mainly be used for mass production and marketing, new market development, and cutting-edge R&D,” Flexiv CEO Shiquan Wang said in a release. “We will continue focusing on automation transformation of the manufacturing industry, while exploring new applications in a broader range of industries including services, agriculture, logistics, medical care, and so on.”
The Santa Clara, California-based firm is known for its “Rizon” product, which it calls “the world's first adaptive robot.”
"Flexiv developed adaptive robots with sophisticated force control system and cutting-edge AI technology that mimic human behavior, bringing the versatility and intelligence of robots to a whole new level,” Bin Yue, the founding partner of Gaorong Capital, said in a release. “Notably, Flexiv has now achieved mass production and successfully validated its customer value and core business model. We believe that Flexiv's products will bring unique value to a much broader range of application scenarios, and effectively accelerate the transformation and automation in different industries.”
Gartner, Inc.