Geek + has received $60 million in Series B funding
Established in 2015, Chinese robotic logistics company Geek + has recently received $60 million in Series B funding, which the company has called the largest single round of fundraising in the logistics robot industry globally to date.”
The company has become the largest logistics robot company in China, and operates the single largest robot warehouse in the region. It also houses the largest number of robots in operation, with the highest processing volume.
Led by private equity firm Warburg Picus and existing shareholders, Geek + therefore provides a one-stop shop in delivering intelligent logistics robotic solutions. This incorporates e-commerce platforms, third-party logistics providers, express delivery companies, offline retailers and manufacturers of apparels, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and electronics products. Warburg Pincus is a global private equity firm, which has invested more than $7 billion in nearly 100 companies in China.
Mr. Yong Zheng, Founder and CEO of Geek+, said: "This round of financing will help us upgrade our business in three aspects. Firstly, we will accelerate the upgrading of our logistics robotics products and expand product offerings to cover more applications. Secondly, we will accelerate our geographical expansion and industry coverage to provide our one-stop intelligent logistics system and operation solutions to more customers.
Thirdly, we will start exploring overseas markets through multiple channels." Geek+ has also established strategic partnerships with a number of key customers to co-develop customized AI and robotic solutions across different industries and applications.
Geek + maintains a significant advantage in technology capability, product performance and market share compared to industry peers., and has delivered nearly 1,000 units of robots in warehouses for over 20 customers, including Tmall, VIPShop and Suning.
Its solutions cover storage, order picking, material handling and parcel sorting. Its solutions can perform a wide range of functions, such as order division and consolidation, intelligent inventory replenishment and products return, SKU correlation analysis, robots routes optimisation, automated collision and congestion control, and dynamic shelf optimization.
Mr. Jericho Zhang, Principal of Warburg Pincus, commented: "As the AI technologies are maturing, we are seeing increasing market demand and new applications. In particular, the traditional, capital-intensive and labour-intensive logistics industry provides huge market potential for AI technologies. With the rapid development of China's e-commerce industry, China's warehouse management industry is undergoing transformational changes. More complex warehouse operations and increasing costs are spurring demand for AI-enabled solutions, particularly logistics robots.
The use of AI solutions and logistics robots has clear advantages in cost, efficiency and flexibility over manual warehouse management and other automation technologies. We will leverage our experience and resources in the logistics and technology sectors to support Geek+'s business expansion, and help build Geek+ into a global leader in artificial intelligence," added Zhang.
"Our intelligent logistics robotic solutions have great flexibility and scalability. They help customers achieve agility in logistics and mitigate investment risks by quickly responding to fluctuating order volume, often caused by constantly changing market environment. With the explosive growth of customer demand for logistics robots, Geek+ will continue to work closely with our business partners to drive the application of AI technologies across the whole logistics value chain," he says.
