Shanghai Robot Startup Lands Hundreds of Millions in Series D

A Shanghai robotics platform just clinched hundreds of millions in Series D funding to push a self-developed software stack that tries to run China’s big-iron factories.

Shanghai Dajie Robot Technology Company Limited, founded in August 2016, is betting that a fully in-house software layer can unlock faster, more reliable automation across heavy industries like shipbuilding, power, construction machinery, and engineering. Its RoBIM CLOUD platform bills itself as a complete, self-developed stack—from geometry kernels to path planning algorithms—that lets robots “understand” drawings and autonomously generate manufacturing instructions. The company has turned this capability into a suite of products, including bevel-cutting, welding, and grinding robots, with individual categories reportedly delivering over RMB 50 million in annual sales (around $6.9 million) as a benchmark for early growth.

The round was co-led by Bohua Capital’s Liangxi Digital Industry Fund and CICC Capital’s funds, with participation from Beijing Shunyi Science and Technology Innovation Group Fund and the Houshayu “Zhongherunda” Industrial Investment Fund. The financing signals a hybrid funding environment for Chinese robotics startups: private sector capital alongside regionally backed and policy-aligned funds, a model increasingly common in Shanghai’s booming automation corridor.

What makes Dajie Robot notable beyond the cash is its positioning: a domestically developed software platform paired with hardware that targets large-scale customization in heavy industries. RoBIM CLOUD is described as a full-stack solution that aims to reduce reliance on foreign robotics ecosystems by delivering end-to-end robot programming, path optimization, and process intelligence from a single vendor. In a sector where integration with existing drawings, workflows, and supplier networks is as critical as the hardware itself, a homegrown platform can shrink cycle times and streamline maintenance across multi-shipyard rollouts.

Dajie Robot’s customer list reads like a who’s who of China’s heavy industry anchors: Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Jiangnan Shipyard, Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry, and Zhenhua Heavy Industries. These are not simple procurement deals; they represent long lead times, custom automation configurations, and ongoing service contracts that tie a vendor’s software updates to asset longevity and spare-parts resilience. The funding comes at a moment when shipyards and other capital-intensive manufacturers in Shanghai and neighboring provinces are pushing automation as a hedge against labor volatility and to sustain competitive shipbuilding cycles.

From a policy and market perspective, the round underscores how Chinese robotics funding is increasingly a mix of private strength and state-aligned support. The investor lineup includes funds tied to local and national policy objectives, hinting at a broader push to cultivate domestic software platforms as essential components of “intelligent manufacturing.” Mandarin-language reporting around the ecosystem indicates ongoing government emphasis on domestic robot components and software, a trend that could tilt procurement toward homegrown platforms in complex industrial environments.

Two practitioner takeaways stand out. First, the economics of RoBIM-like platforms hinge on total system integration rather than a single hardware upgrade. Dajie’s approach—marrying a self-developed cloud platform with specialized robots—targets multi-year deployments where software updates, calibration, and workflow modernization deliver ongoing value to shipyards and heavy engineers. Second, standing up a scalable, fully in-house stack requires not only capital but talent and supplier-market discipline. The rate at which RoBIM Cloud can absorb new drawing formats, interface with existing ERP/MDM ecosystems, and deliver consistent uptime across.remote sites will determine whether the platform moves from a compelling pilot to a industry-wide standard.

Looking ahead, observers should watch for how contract wins translate into recurring revenue and whether the platform expands beyond shipbuilding into other heavy industries, where the same chord of geometry-to-path planning can unlock dozens of turnkey automation lines. If the ecosystem continues to attract policy-aligned funds and domestic component makers, Dajie’s RoBIM Cloud could become a reference architecture for China’s large-scale automation push—an anchor point for a domestic robotics software stack in the world’s largest manufacturing economy.

Sources

Industrial Embodied Intelligence Company Raises Hundreds of Millions in Funding