Xiaomi's ecological chain enterprises have established three new companies in a short period of time, intending to deploy multiple tracks in the robot industry

Recently, Dreame Technology has registered two new robot companies, namely Dreame Commercial Robot (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. and Dreame Mowing Intelligent Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., which are the second and third robot-related companies newly established by Dreame in the past two months. The previous one was Dreame Swimming Pool Intelligent Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., which is engaged in the research and development of intelligent swimming pool robots.

The two newly established companies have a registered capital of 1 million yuan each, and Cao Lili, the executive president of Dreame Technology, serves as the legal representative. In the business scope of Dreame commercial robots, there are projects that must be approved according to law: the production and sales of Class II medical equipment, as well as professional cleaning, washing and disinfection services.

Based on the business scope, it is speculated that the direction of the commercial robot layout of Dreame is related to disinfection and cleaning. Disinfection robots have autonomous navigation and disinfection capabilities, can cruise in the environment, and use ultraviolet rays, ozone, disinfectants and other methods to remove germs and viruses to maintain hygiene and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. These robots are usually able to work without direct human operation, thus reducing the risk of manual disinfection.

Three years after the pandemic, people's general awareness of protection has improved, the demand for disinfection robots is gradually increasing, and the market has also received more attention and investment. According to forecast data from relevant institutions, the national demand for air disinfection robots will be about 2,525 in 2022, and this number is expected to double in 2027.

Prior to this, Dreame has been working in the field of smart home appliances for many years, and its main products include four major categories: sweeping robots, cordless vacuum cleaners, smart floor scrubbers, and high-speed hair dryers.

Starting from 2015, the Dreame startup team, with members of the "Sky Factory" as the core, began to make the most difficult and core part of the vacuum cleaner from 0 to 1 - the high-speed digital motor. In 2017, Dreame Technology was officially established. At present, Dreame already has multiple product lines in the field of smart home appliances, and has independent intellectual property rights in high-speed digital motors, VSLAM intelligent algorithms, fluid mechanics and robot control.

The accumulation of these technologies has given Dreame Technology the opportunity to develop new product lines. Last month, Dreame Technology established Dreame Pool Intelligent Technology. According to reports, the new company will launch two pool cleaning robot products this year, targeting the mid-to-high-end market. It has now officially started production and is expected to be officially launched on Amazon around September.

According to Maytronics' 2023 report data, the global swimming pool stock will increase from 25 million in 2019 to 30 million in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 6%; at the same time, the usage rate of swimming pool robots has also increased, currently exceeding 20%. In 2022, the global pool cleaning robot market size will exceed US$1 billion.

At the same time, Dreame has gradually regained some achievements in its traditional business. During this year's 618 e-commerce festival, Dreame's omni-channel sales exceeded 900 million, a year-on-year increase of 100%. It ranked among the top three brands on Tmall, JD.com, Douyin and other platforms, and many products won the sales champion on all platforms.

Lawn mowing robots are also a blue ocean market and a new outlet for Chinese companies to go global. According to Statista statistics, in 2020, the average spending on lawns and gardens per household in the United States reached $155. Kurt Morrell, vice president of horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, said: "Last year, 90% of our hedge trimmers were electric, and this year it will be 100%. People basically won't touch gas hedge trimmers anymore."

Stanley Black & Decker, a leading manufacturer of outdoor products, once made statistics that the North American manufacturer's shipments of electric garden equipment increased from 9 million units in 2015 to more than 16 million units in 2020, an increase of more than 75% in five years. In the future, it has become a foreseeable trend that robots with autonomous planning capabilities will be engaged in lawn maintenance, which will help reduce noise and emissions.

For overseas middle-class users who are happy to create a "lawn culture", robots from China are extremely cost-effective. After years of internal competition and development, domestic robots have initially formed a full industrial chain structure for robots. Not only are they comparable to overseas products in terms of autonomous driving technology, but they can also provide lower-priced products and better services through cost advantages.