BERLIN (Reuters) – German-Chinese startup Agile Robots said on Thursday that it had raised $220 million from investors led by the SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and would invest the proceeds in expanding its production and sales operations.
The investment round valued Agile Robots, which has dual headquarters in Munich and Beijing, at more than $1 billion – adding it to the growing ranks of technology startups with so-called “unicorn” status.
Founded in 2018, Agile Robots provides both software and hardware – including a five-fingered robot than can serve as a ‘smart assistant’ in settings such as assembling smartphones or providing health treatment.
“Agile Robots realistically brings the next generation of robots into industrial intelligent precision assembly areas and medical treatment scenarios that could previously only be carried out by humans,” said founder and CEO Zhaopeng Chen.
“With the excellent support from our well-known investors and customers, we are confident that we will lead robotics into a new era.”
Also participating in the Series C venture capital round were financial investors Abu Dhabi Royal Group, Hillhouse Ventures, Sequoia Capital China and Linear Capital.
Strategic investors included Xiaomi Group, Foxconn Industrial Internet and Midas, founded by former executives at Foxconn, which assembles devices including the Apple iPhone.
(Reporting by Nadine Schimroszik, Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Keith Weir)
