Author｜Wei Shiwei
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36氪 was informed that “Chevening Technology”, a provider of industrial smart sensor solutions, recently announced the completion of nearly 10 million US dollars in A+ round financing, led by Shunwei Capital and jointly invested by Yiheda. Potential Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor.
This round of financing will be mainly used for two aspects. First, in terms of R&D, the company will continue to expand the underlying R&D team to support the R&D of optoelectronic underlying devices, chips, and optics. At the same time, it will build five laboratories including precision optics to upgrade intelligent workshops and increase production capacity. Second, in terms of business, it will continue to upgrade the company’s various For the business flow of the department, 6 new offices have been added to form a service network that can support 200 core dealers and 40,000 users, further improve customer experience and service speed, and provide more comprehensive industrial smart sensor solutions.
Founded in 2010, Chevening Technology mainly focuses on the development of industrial-grade smart sensors for the 3C electronics, new energy, semiconductor process, medical electronics and service robot industries, providing high-precision positioning, image recognition, precision measurement and obstacle avoidance safety. Sophisticated intelligence and AI sensing solutions including.
Meiji Sensor’s core technology and industry solutions
In recent years, the rapid development of the Industrial Internet of Things has greatly stimulated the explosion of the industrial sensor market. As one of the important devices in the industrial field, smart sensors can be widely used in 3C electronics, lithium battery/photovoltaic, smart logistics, semiconductors, medical testing, engineering In the fields of machinery and other fields, the demand for domestic substitution has grown significantly.
According to MarketsandMarkets report data, the global industrial sensor market is expected to grow from $20.6 billion (about 138.04 billion yuan) in 2021 to $31.9 billion (about 213.76 billion yuan) in 2026. From 2021 to 2026, the market will grow It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1%.
But for a long time, the global industrial sensor market has been mainly occupied by foreign brands such as OMRON, Panasonic, SICK, KEYENCE, etc. In addition, they have accumulated in the layout of new semiconductor materials and core technology patents. The conversion rate is relatively low, about 30%, facing challenges such as lack of core technology, excess low-end products, and serious product homogeneity.
According to Tang Xinxin, founder and CEO of Chevening Technology, in addition to the underlying technology, industrial smart sensors also need to improve their brand power and build a sales network. He told 36氪 that the company was initially established as an agent for German industrial sensor brands. In 2011, the Meiji Sensor (meijidenki) brand was established, and the initial product line was formed through strategic cooperation with Taiwan SCAN Company, and began independent research and development in 2014. Industrial photoelectric sensor products.
Today, Chevening Technology has built four product lines of precision positioning sensors, deep learning, precision measurement sensors, and safety obstacle avoidance sensors, covering 14 categories and 93 different series. Among them, the core of the company is the two categories of precision positioning sensors and precision measurement sensors.
For example, in the power battery manufacturing process, Meiji Sensor can provide power battery pole piece thickness measurement, color recognition, single and double sheet detection, micron-level laser correction, coating thickness measurement products, and deep learning-based defect and scratch detection, The AI sensing solution for intelligent code reading and security protection can also support customized sensor services for special scenarios such as copper-free scenarios, high temperature sensing, and dry and strong acid environments.
Meiji Sensor Series Products
Tang Xinxin said that the company’s core competitive advantage lies in its leading photoelectric technology, AI underlying R&D capabilities, industrial-grade sensor R&D capabilities, optical forward design capabilities, and precision process platform support, covering chips, algorithms, materials, optics and precision engineering. In other respects, its products can better cope with harsh industrial environments. In addition, Chevening’s packaging process can improve the consistency of products and ensure the stable use of products in industrial sites.
“Compared with our peers, we are a concept-driven industrial-grade sensor company that can penetrate the bottom layer and have positive R&D capabilities. Our differentiation is that we can not only provide high-quality, high-precision, intelligently integrated industrial sensor products, It can also provide a one-stop user experience.” Tang Xin said.
The realization of this series of capabilities is closely related to the team of Chevening Technology. The company has a team size of nearly 300 people, and R&D personnel account for more than 30%. The core team comes from well-known companies such as Siemens, Huawei, Intel, Honeywell, Eaton, Sick, and Keyence. It brings together a group of outstanding scientists and engineers in the industry. Engineer with 20 years of industrial and technical experience in the field of industrial sensing.
Today, Chevening Technology has more than 120 core patents, and has R&D centers in Shenzhen and Changsha, with an annual production capacity of 10 million pieces. Among them, this year alone, Meiji sensor shipments will exceed 6 million, with more than 200 global agents, customers in 60 countries and regions, and more than 16,000 cooperative customers. Many well-known manufacturers, suppliers and integrators use the company’s products to ensure that the products produced meet the quality requirements of users, such as Apple, Huawei, Foxconn, Samsung, BYD, ATL, Sany Heavy Industry and other enterprises.
In terms of revenue, the company’s revenue will continue to grow in 2021, and it has achieved nearly 100 million yuan in revenue, of which more than 60% come from the 3C electronics and new energy markets. It is expected that total revenue will increase by 120% this year. At the same time, the international market of Chevening Technology is also developing rapidly, and the international market revenue will account for nearly 20% in 2021.
In terms of system, Chevening Technology is comprehensively improving the business flow of new product development and listing, production, manufacturing and delivery, and sales and service. “Clear and clear business flow is an important guarantee for Chevening Technology to become a game-breaker in the industry.” Tang Xinxin said.
“Although the epidemic has had a certain impact on the supply chain, we are alleviating the pressure on the supply chain by establishing safety stocks.” Tang Xinxin mentioned that, on the other hand, the epidemic has also accelerated the development of unmanned and automated intelligent manufacturing. To a certain extent, it will benefit the growth of the industry.
In the next year, based on self-developed chips, experimental platforms and process systems, Chevening Technology will successively launch micron-level laser displacement, precision TOF ranging optoelectronics, high-precision fiber amplifiers, color sensors, smart code readers and vision sensors, IO-link series sensors and other products further upgrade the integration, high precision, easy operation and economy of the products. In addition, the company will accelerate the development of customized products based on customer needs, and provide one-stop smart sensor solutions for industrial customers.
Investor says:
Ma Yanxin, Vice President of Shunwei Capital Investment, said: “Industrial sensors are the underlying devices in the field of automation and the basis for perception in intelligent manufacturing. The fragmentation of industrial sensor demand scenarios, the diversification of use and installation, etc., make it difficult for start-ups to cold start, scale, and Branding is difficult. We are glad to see that Chevening has made breakthroughs in scale and branding after years of accumulation, and we look forward to the company’s ability to seize the development opportunity, continue to improve in the field of industrial sensors, and become a leading brand of domestic industrial sensors.”
Jin Liguo, chairman of Yiheda, said: “As the key and just-needed parts of automation equipment, sensors play a vital role in the stable operation of a piece of equipment. In the past, due to the better profits of automation equipment and the stability of domestic sensors Such factors have not been used by equipment manufacturers, and have been monopolized by imported brands for a long time. However, with the outbreak of the epidemic and the shortage of chips, imported brands of sensors have experienced serious delivery and price increases. The mainstream suppliers of domestic sensors have always attached great importance to product construction, investing a lot of money in the design and development of new products every year, and also making continuous efforts in brand building and overseas market promotion. Relying on the advantages of China’s perfect industrial chain, it is important to ensure product quality. At the same time, it can solve the problem of product delivery very well. We believe that under the background of domestic substitution, with the continuous enrichment of its product line and stable performance, Chevening will go further and more solid on this track. .”
media coverage
36Kr Sohu Sohu Venture State
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