经济新闻
中国科林电气将斥资最高4410万美元收购人形机器人初创企业控股权 2026-05-20
Kelin Electric, a Chinese smart power system supplier, said it will invest as much as CNY300 million (USD44.1 million) to acquire a controlling stake in a domestic humanoid robot startup to expand into the robotics sector.
Kelin Electric will buy a 41.6 percent stake in Kepler Robotics from founder Yang Hua and several other shareholders, raising its stake to 51 percent after completing the deal, the Hangzhou-based company announced late on May 19. The price was negotiated based on the target firm's valuation in the primary market, it added.
At the end of last year, Kelin Electric bought a minority stake in Kepler Robotics from Yang for CNY100 million.
Kepler Robotics is in the red, while its operating revenue was CNY4.3 million (USD630,960) last year, Kelin Electric said. Although its business scale is relatively small, the target firm has over CNY47 million of orders on hand, its product application scenarios have been verified in the market, it possesses mass production capabilities, and can achieve large-scale production.
Kelin Electric will keep the original core management and research and development team of Kepler Robotics unchanged after the deal is closed to maintain stability, it pointed out.
Kepler Robotics's self-developed embodied intelligence architecture, hybrid actuator, and core component self-research system can efficiently complement Kelin Electric's existing core technologies, including six-dimensional force sensors, dexterous hands, and motion control systems, Kelin Electric noted, adding that this will help accelerate the construction of a full-chain tech system of "perception, decision-making, and execution" for humanoid robots and enhance the engineering implementation capability and operational reliability of robots.
In addition, with its long-term engineering experience and high-quality customer resources in intelligent perception, early warning, intelligent operation and maintenance of energy equipment, and other areas, Kelin Electric can help Kepler Robotics speed up the large-scale application of embodied intelligence tech in scenarios such as power and industrial operation and maintenance, it pointed out.
Established in 2023, Shanghai-based Kepler Robotics focuses on full-stack independent development of industrial humanoid robots. Its core products include the full-sized humanoid robot K2 "Bumblebee" and a Vision-Tactile-Language-Action embodied artificial intelligence solution, which are mainly used in industrial scenarios such as smart manufacturing and warehouse logistics.
Shares of Kelin Electric closed 1.2 percent lower at CNY72.99 (USD10.71) apiece on May 20, after surging by as much as 8.3 percent to a record high in the morning trading session. The broader Shanghai stock market fell 0.2 percent.
Source: Yicai Global
