5Y News | 5Y Capital Portfolio Company Direct Drive Tech Closes Nearly RMB 100 Million Series A Round
Focused on the R&D and commercialization of direct-drive power solutions for robotics.
Benmo Technology, a company developing and manufacturing robotic powertrain modules, is dedicated to providing gearless direct-drive precision power solutions. The company announced today that it has completed its Series A funding round, raising nearly RMB 100 million. This round was co-led by Pine VC and Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, with follow-on investment from a prominent industrial investor and Ascent Capital. Existing shareholders including 5Y Capital and MiraclePlus also increased their stakes. Beituo Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round. Benmo plans to use the proceeds primarily for technology R&D, with subsequent investments in market expansion and production capacity.
Peter, Managing Director at 5Y Capital, said: "Over the past year or so, we've been pleased to see Benmo Technology's direct-drive motors gaining widespread adoption in robotics, smart fitness equipment, and other fields. As a foundational technology in robotics, we look forward to Benmo's direct-drive motors continually pushing technical boundaries and enabling more innovative robot form factors and applications." 5Y Capital previously led Benmo's Pre-A round.
Di Zhang, CEO of Benmo Technology, said: "We're delighted to have the support of top-tier investors to help us realize our vision of providing direct-drive precision power solutions that can directly replace various types of gear reducers on a global scale. Based on a series of breakthroughs, the company has achieved 30% month-over-month revenue growth for 12 consecutive months. Our direct-drive motor customers include ECOVACS and Dreame; our wheeled-legged robot customers span tech companies and renowned universities such as SenseTime, Zichuan, MIT, and Berkeley. With this funding round, we will continue advancing direct-drive technology R&D, and we're confident in translating more of our technology into products that enter and improve most people's lives."
Benmo Technology M15 Series Motor
Robotic power solutions are categorized by drive type into direct-drive and non-direct-drive, with the main distinction being whether they use complex gearboxes. This component primarily functions to reduce motor speed while increasing torque, and the technology is relatively mature. However, gears in reducers experience significant wear, shortening equipment lifespan, and the complex structure inevitably leads to loud noise, poor battery life, and low efficiency.
Benmo Technology's main products are the M06 and M15 series motors, which maintain high torque density while achieving low rotational speeds and integrating the controller into the motor itself — completely replacing the cumbersome "motor + reducer + servo system" configuration.
Taking robot vacuums as an example, using Benmo's direct-drive solution M06 enables completely silent operation, meeting the quietness requirements of mid-to-high-end product lines and improving voice control experiences. Eliminating the transmission reducer saves at least 60% of installation space, allowing for wider cleaning modules. And because there's no mechanical friction energy loss, battery life improves by 30%. More importantly, the service life bottleneck for traditional robots has been the gearbox. According to Benmo Technology CEO Di Zhang, using a direct-drive solution can increase equipment lifespan by more than 3x.
Beyond cleaning robots, Benmo also provides modules for AGVs and wheeled robots used in indoor/outdoor inspection, delivery, and cleaning applications. For these customers, the direct-drive solution's elimination of transmission losses reduces maintenance costs and improves electrical energy utilization efficiency.
In addition to supplying direct-drive modules, Benmo launched the wheeled-legged robot Diablo Xingtian in 2021. Using direct-drive robotic joint actuation, it can operate in standing, crawling, and semi-squatting postures, with a payload capacity of 5-10kg. It can smoothly cross 5cm obstacles, and when stepping over 10cm heights with a single leg, it maintains body stability. "Wheeled-legged robots ensure stability and flexibility while moving faster than legged robots, enabling richer application scenarios," said Di Zhang. Following Xingtian's launch, SenseTime, Zichuan Technology, MIT, and others have made purchases.
Benmo Robotics operates five self-built production lines, with core capabilities and processes developed and manufactured in-house, giving it the capacity to ship millions of motors annually. On the revenue front, Benmo Robotics has maintained month-over-month sales growth of over 30% for a full year. Currently, the company's products primarily serve household robots, industrial/commercial robots, the fitness industry, and several other sectors.
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