5Y News | Warehouse Robotics Firm Hai Robotics Closes 100-Million-Yuan Series B+ Round Led by 5Y Capital

五源资本·March 10, 2021

Pioneer in tote-based warehouse robotics systems.

Warehouse robotics company HAI ROBOTICS recently completed a Series B+ funding round in the hundreds of millions of RMB, led by 5Y Capital, with existing investors Source Code Capital and Walden International participating, and Shineng Capital continuing to serve as exclusive financial advisor. The proceeds will be used to strengthen product R&D and organizational development, enabling rapid optimization of R&D projects, enhancing customer service capabilities and professionalism, and cementing its position as the leader in autonomous case-handling robot systems.

Peter, Vice President at 5Y Capital, said: "HAI ROBOTICS possesses a rare combination of innovation and focus that is scarce in the market. It defined the autonomous case-handling robot as a new product category, invented the 'case-to-person' operating system, and laid a solid foundation for fully unmanned warehouses in the future. 5Y Capital is highly optimistic about HAI ROBOTICS rapidly growing into a global leader in intelligent warehousing as an industry innovator."

Chen Yuqi

Founder & CEO, HAI ROBOTICS

After five years as a founder, what belief has never changed? What has changed the most?

Chen Yuqi: What hasn't changed is that as society's aging problem grows more severe, we need robotics technology to improve social efficiency and push society forward.

What has changed is that I used to think warehouse robots were a product. Now I realize warehouse robots actually enable a scenario — helping customers solve problems optimally (low cost, high efficiency, high flexibility, high stability) within that scenario.

What common sense or principle has become increasingly important to you?

Chen Yuqi: The principle is to deal with matters on their own terms and cross the river by feeling the stones. Don't rely on experience or rigid rules, but constantly observe, adjust, and learn. And the most important thing is to keep customers top of mind, truly putting them first in every consideration.

A book you've especially enjoyed recently? Why?

Chen Yuqi: Confessions. In this book, Rousseau is extraordinarily honest with himself, completely confronting his weaknesses, virtues, and actions.

Peter

Vice President, 5Y Capital

Why invest in HAI ROBOTICS?

Peter: Warehouse automation is one of the largest scenarios that the robotics revolution has entered first. Since Amazon acquired warehouse robotics company Kiva in 2012, Amazon has deployed nearly 300,000 robots across hundreds of its own fulfillment centers. A large number of startups at home and abroad have also entered this high-growth track. Unlike the many domestic warehouse robotics companies that directly copied Kiva's "shelf-to-person" model, HAI ROBOTICS uniquely invented and defined the autonomous case-handling robot form factor, achieving a "case-to-person" operating method that replaces previously highly manual, non-standardized shelves and warehouses with more standardized, more structured, and finer-grained cases. This represents the direction of warehouse automation development and is the only technical path that can potentially achieve full warehouse unmanned operation.

We believe that as case-handling robots mature, their impact on warehouse automation will be no less revolutionary than the invention of the shipping container was for maritime transport, and HAI ROBOTICS has the opportunity to occupy the most important position in this transformation.

Founded in 2016, HAI ROBOTICS is the creator and leader of Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems. Since its founding, HAI ROBOTICS has continued to attract attention from logistics customers and system integrators worldwide, and has completed three consecutive funding rounds in the past two years.

In recent years, the expansion of global logistics scale has driven rapid growth in the warehouse automation market. However, warehouse automation still faces numerous challenges, such as high costs, difficult retrofitting, and high demands for efficiency density.

Chen Yuqi, Founder & CEO of HAI ROBOTICS, noted that current warehouse automation penetration is only 1%, with the vast majority of warehouses still relying on manual operations. The gradual decline of demographic dividend and rising labor costs are inevitable trends. HAI ROBOTICS hopes to use robotics technology to help address social problems and create value for customers, the industry, and society.

HAI ROBOTICS's self-developed HAIPICK autonomous case-handling robot system, which combines high efficiency, intelligence, and flexibility, has become a rising star in the industry. The HAIPICK system enables intelligent picking, transporting, and sorting of warehouse goods, improving worker efficiency by 3-4x and increasing storage density by 80%-130%. Its easy deployment and scalability also make retrofitting and upgrading more straightforward.

The double-deep HAIPICK A42D case-handling robot operating at an e-commerce warehouse in Hong Kong

Since 2015, the HAI ROBOTICS team has focused on developing autonomous case-handling robot systems, achieving deployment of a single-case robot system in 2017 and commercial application of a multi-case robot system in 2018. In 2020, the company's HAIPICK robots evolved from case-handling robots into a full series of autonomous case-handling robot products, enabling functions such as double-deep shelf picking and carton picking and transporting, applicable to more logistics warehouses and factory automation scenarios. To date, HAI ROBOTICS has accumulated over 300 intellectual property rights, with coverage across core functions including control, positioning, robot scheduling, and warehouse management.

Additionally, HAI ROBOTICS has developed a comprehensive service system. Its service process consists of three stages: solution design, project delivery, and after-sales service. The company first works with customers to design and refine a solution based on their needs. Then the delivery team enters to ensure the complete handover of the solution. HAI ROBOTICS has project delivery teams across China and overseas, and works with local partners to refine the delivery process. After project acceptance, it provides hardware maintenance, software operations, and other after-sales services to ensure smooth customer operations.

HAI ROBOTICS's accumulated expertise in products and services is ultimately reflected in improved customer business metrics. In a consumer goods warehouse project in Beijing, 65 HAIPICK robots helped a well-known e-commerce company reduce labor costs and improve efficiency. After implementation, the customer's warehouse picking efficiency tripled, storage density increased 30%, and the project met or exceeded the customer's peak Singles' Day volume and timeliness requirements.

HAIPICK A42 robots operating at Philips Zhuhai home appliance factory

To date, HAI ROBOTICS has established partnerships with leading enterprises across industries including SF DHL, Best Supply Chain, JD.com, Alibaba Xunxi, Philips, and State Grid Corporation of China. The company has over 90 projects deployed or in implementation, with cumulative robot sales exceeding 600 units.

Chen Yuqi noted that HAI ROBOTICS has a high project repurchase rate. Storage density, picking efficiency, stability, and flexibility are the key business metrics customers care about, and HAI ROBOTICS's solutions perform strongly across all four dimensions — which is why customers choose to continue working with the company.

Regarding development plans for 2021, Chen Yuqi said HAI ROBOTICS will continue providing customers with quality products and services, going deep and doing thorough work in its current industry. At the same time, to better support the company's rapid growth, team building will be a critical focus for the coming year, with plans to expand to roughly 1,000 people by year-end.

5Y Capital (formerly Morningside Venture Capital) currently manages approximately US$3 billion across USD and RMB dual-currency funds. We believe the world would be a better place if the crazy you in others' eyes started to be believed.

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