JAKA Robotics, a Shanghai-based tech startup, revealed recently that it has raised a total of $150M in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and other investors to accelerate the development and commercialization of collaborative robots that work in the same area as people.
The China-based firm, launched in 2014, received funding from Temasek Holdings in Singapore and Prosperity 7 Ventures, a growth fund affiliated with Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company.
“As a leader in the new generation of cobots, JAKA Robotics has formed 9 core technologies and 6 core algorithms, creating highly flexible intelligent solutions for industrial manufacturing that can be used in a wide range of scenarios,” said Mr. Li Mingyang, CEO of JAKA Robotics. “Our cobots have extensive communication interfaces and are equipped with vision systems, force sensors and other external devices. The perception equipment and robot design can be deeply integrated. It enables robots to independently carry out task planning in a complicated, unstructured environment, realizing the progress from human-machine cooperation to human-machine integration, covering more production areas.”
Need for robots
Robots are being introduced in a wide range of jobs, including service industries, because they are straightforward to use and do not require extensive programming to set up.
China’s demand for robots is increasing rapidly, despite a manpower shortfall created by the country’s dropping birth rate and elderly population.
Founded by Li Mingyang, JAKA Robotics creates a comprehensive product matrix with payload ranging from 1 to 18 kg based on self-developed 9 core technologies and 6 core algorithms. JAKA Robotics claims to have over 10,000 collaborative robots in use across the world, which are used in the production lines of brands in the automotive, electronics, semiconductor, and other industries.
Dennis Chang, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said: “We believe Jaka Robotics is one of the leading collaborative robot companies in China who is helping manufacturers boost productivity. With its strong in-house R&D capabilities, Jaka’s robots are high-performance and strongly suited for multiple industrial use cases, which is recognized by its global partners. We are pleased to partner with the company and support their vision of ushering in the era of flexible intelligent robots.”
New launches
The company launched the new JAKA Pro Series in 2022 to serve enterprises operating in severe areas around the world. JAKA Robotics has amassed a great number of practical applications in handling, palletizing, machining, testing, bonding, screw locking, polishing, welding, and many more.
In the first half of 2022, the company’s robot sales more than doubled compared to the same period last year. It intends to use the scale of its home market to catch up to Denmark’s Universal Robots, the world’s largest cooperative robot producer, and Japan’s Fanuc, which is expanding output rapidly.
Jaka Robotics competes with the likes of Elephant Robotics, Han’s Robot, Rethink robotics and Keenon.
