Record-breaking! Humanoid robot "dark horse" won hundreds of millions of yuan in financing!

The largest single round of financing for a global tactile sensor company

Artificial intelligence is currently in its infancy. In this wave of innovation where AI and robots are dancing together, a rather "niche" market segment is quietly emerging.

On April 30, Pasini Sensing Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Pasini"), a company focusing on tactile and automation technology, completed its A and A1 rounds of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan. Among them, the A round was led by ENN Capital, and the A1 round was jointly invested by BAIC Industrial Investment, Nanshan Zhanxin Investment, and Yingfutech.

It is reported that the amount of this financing exceeded 100 million yuan, breaking the current record of the highest financing for global tactile sensor companies. The funds raised will help Pasini accelerate product iteration, achieve mass delivery and commercial expansion.

The breakthrough lies in "feeling" rather than "form"

For humanoid robots, some manufacturers focus on their humanoid appearance and movements, ignoring the more core practical value. The real value of humanoid robots lies in their ability to complete complex tasks like humans, rather than just imitating human form and movement. Therefore, creating intelligent robots with multimodal perception capabilities such as fine touch is the direction of future development.

Although artificial intelligence technology, led by large language models, has developed rapidly, making the once "banished" concept of humanoid robots popular again, embodied intelligence is currently the hottest "fashion item" in the technology industry. Many giants have either already entered the market or are on the road to cross-border partnerships.

When traditional robots understand and manipulate the environment, they rely only on a single mode of perception to obtain detailed information about objects, which often results in clumsy and inaccurate movements. While soft power is increasing, the lag in hardware capabilities has become a bottleneck restricting the development of the humanoid robot industry, commonly known as "the body cannot keep up with the brain."

Tactile perception is a key link in giving robots "human" capabilities. Multi-dimensional tactile technology can make up for the shortcomings of single visual feedback, making robot movements more stable and accurate, and better adapted to complex and changing working environments.

Waseda doctor aims at multi-dimensional vision

Seeing the key role of tactile sensors in robots, Pasini has made breakthroughs in multi-dimensional tactile sensing technology its core goal since its inception and continues to lead in this field.

As of the end of 2023, Pasini's multi-dimensional tactile sensor industry shipments and market share will be ranked first in the industry, and the shipments and market share of multi-dimensional tactile sensors in the humanoid robot industry will also be among the best.

Founded in 2021, the company is committed to building a more intelligent perception robot system, improving the human-computer interaction experience, and exploring innovations in emerging fields to bring more advanced and intelligent technological applications to customers and society.

The company's founder and CEO, Xu Jincheng, received his Ph.D. from Waseda University in Japan and studied under Professor Shigeki Sugano, an authority in the field of Japanese robotics. Professor Shigeki Sugano's Sugano Lab gave birth to the world's first humanoid robot. Xu Jincheng studied and worked in the lab and participated in many projects related to tactile sensors and robotic arms.

During his further studies, he realized that the potential of tactile sensing technology was still very high and there was a vast blue ocean for future development. In addition, as high-end tactile sensors were still dominated by leading foreign manufacturers, he chose to return to China to start a business.

The core team of Pasini graduated from well-known domestic and foreign universities such as Imperial College London, Tsinghua University, and Beihang University. They have rich experience in the research and development of sensor and robotics technology and have excellent technical strength in the industry.

As a technology-driven company, Pasini has the industry-leading multi-dimensional tactile sensor R&D and mass production capabilities. The company's independently developed PX tactile sensor module has excellent performance in key indicators such as sensitivity, sampling speed, and life cycle. The sensitivity is 10 times that of similar products, the highest sampling frequency can reach 1000Hz, and the service life is very long, supporting more than 3 million measurements.

Based on cutting-edge multi-dimensional tactile technology, Pasini has built a complete robot solution system, including PXR robot torque joint module, PX-6AX multi-dimensional sensor, PX-3A consumer sensor, DexH5 tactile dexterous hand and Tora humanoid robot. These products enable robots to obtain fine tactile capabilities close to the level of human skin, and can be widely used in multiple scenarios such as manufacturing and service industries.

Last words

At the end of last year, Tesla released a video of the Optimus Gen2 robot, which showed the latest progress of its tactile ability. Each fingertip of the robot is equipped with a tactile sensor, which can achieve precise control, perception and grasping of objects, attracting widespread attention.

It is predicted that by 2029, the global flexible tactile sensor market will reach US$5.32 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.9%. It can be said that with the development of general artificial intelligence technology and the gathering of the humanoid robot industry, tactile sensing technology is ushering in the rigid demand for application.

At the same time, many policies in my country will also give wings to the tactile sensor and humanoid robot industries. The "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots" clearly stated that by 2025, the humanoid robot innovation system will be initially established, and a number of key technologies such as "brain, cerebellum, and limbs" will achieve breakthroughs to ensure the safe and effective supply of core components. Sensors, as key products, also require the formation of a product spectrum of special sensors for humanoid robots.

As artificial intelligence and robots are accelerating their penetration into various industries, tactile technology is increasingly showing its indispensable strategic position. As a leader in this niche field, the hundreds of millions of yuan in financing will provide Pasini with sufficient financial support, helping the company to further consolidate its technological leadership and bring new breakthroughs to the domestic humanoid robot industry.