Syrius Robotics, an AMR-based automation solution provider from China, has raised over $20 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by ByteDance, followed by Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Sequoia Capital China, Future Capital, Zhencheng Capital, Tryin Capital and PKSHA SPARX Algorithm Fund. This round brings the total funding to date to $31.2 million (Crunchbase).

AMRs are making their way into fulfillment centers across the globe. Having previously focused on Asian markets such as Japan, Singapore and South Korea, Syrius now aims to expand its business in China and North America. The company has also launched its self-developed AMR operating system (megacosmOS) and AIoT cloud platform (FlexGalaxy).

Interact Analysis predicted that by the end of 2024, over 1 million AMRs for order fulfillment will be installed, a significant leap from the 36,000 AMRs in use at the end of 2019. As COVID-19 reshapes the way consumers shop and businesses operate, picking and sortation in order fulfillment, especially for the e-commerce industry, has led to strong demand for flexible automation.

Syrius is transforming warehouse operations

By combining AMR and AIoT technologies, Syrius presents robots on the ground as the “feet” and operational intelligence in the cloud as the “brain”. The solution enables smart transformation of warehouse operations from workflow to inventory management. More importantly, with Syrius’ system, deployment and scaling are almost effortless. Deployment can be done in days without changing existing racks and layout, nor interrupting daily operation. When facing frequent demand spikes, the number of robots at work can be adjust dynamically.

Earlier this year, Syrius launched its RaaS (Robot-as-a-Service) program, offering the complete solution as a subscription-based service. The company believes that with entry barriers lowered significantly, more customers are likely to join the intelligent warehouse transformation.

Meanwhile, Syrius has built strong ties with leading regional partners for innovation. The company runs an intelligent robotics lab together with the Advanced Institute of Information Technology of Peking University. Its collaboration with DHL Asia Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore was also recently announced.

Founded in 2018, Syrius Robotics has offices and OpenLabs in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Last December, the company was listed in The Information’s List of the 50 Most Promising Startups.