Softbank Vision Fund to join $300 million round in robot startup Cloudminds

SoftBank Vision Fund is joining a $300 million investment in Cloudminds, helping the Chinese robotics and artificial intelligence startup ramp up production capacity with the goal of tripling its revenue this year.

Cloudminds, which last raised money in 2017 at a $440 million valuation, aims to sell half a million of its robots this year to Chinese customers from banks and malls to hospitals, Chief Financial Officer Richard Tang said in an interview. The latest funds will bankroll, among other things, the expansion of a $20 million production line its building in Shanghai that should kick off output in June or July, he said during the Credit Suisse Asian Investment conference.

The latest funding, which Tang disclosed and has not been previously reported, is in its initial stages and subject to change, he said. Representatives for the Vision Fund, its largest external backer with nearly 30 percent of the company, were not immediately available for comment.