Since April, the attention of capital has quietly shifted from the “complete machine fever” of humanoid robots to the upstream of the industrial chain, especially focusing on the three major areas of perception, execution and cognition, which represent the core capability modules of the robot’s “eyes, hands, and brain”.
Among them, “hands” have undoubtedly become the most eye-catching key link. At present, the field of robot dexterous hands has gradually formed a new pattern of “upstream and downstream intersection”: not only have complete machine manufacturers laid out their own research and development of dexterous hands to control the initiative of core technology, but a group of companies that originally focused on sensors, motors, reducers and other sub-sectors have also quickly entered the market, and industry competition is becoming increasingly fierce.
According to incomplete statistics from the New Strategy Industry Research Institute, in the past two months, there have been more than 5 financing events in the dexterous hand industry in the Chinese market (only companies with dexterous hands or end effectors as their core business are counted, not including cross-border companies and complete machine companies). Among them, OYMotion, Linkerbot, INSPIRE-ROBOTS and other companies have all obtained financing of 100 million yuan, indicating that the industry heat in this direction has gradually increased.
Figure: Financing in some dexterous hands from 2023 to May 2025 (organized based on public information on the Internet, please make a correction if there are any incomplete points)
From 2023 to 2025, the financing in the field of robotic dexterous hands has shown a steady growth trend. Although the total amount is still less than that of complete machine companies, its weight in the capital vision is constantly increasing. According to the amount of financing disclosed so far, the following three companies stand out and temporarily become the most representative “money-making players” in the dexterous hand track.
OYMotion: Seven rounds, more than 300 million yuan
Established in 2015, OYMotion (full name: Shanghai OYMotion Information Technology Co., Ltd.) is one of the few innovative companies in China that master the two underlying core technologies of brain-computer interface and robot. As a company focusing on the cross-integration of brain science and robotics technology, OYMotion has built a trinity of “neural interface – robot – AI algorithm” independent research and development platform.
Figure: Financing history of OYMotion (organized based on public information on the Internet, please make a correction if there are any incomplete points)
INSPIRE-ROBOTS: Seven rounds, over 200 million yuan
Founded by Cai Yingpeng in 2016, INSPIRE-ROBOTS is a robot parts manufacturer focusing on micro servo electric cylinders and humanoid five-fingered dexterous hands. The company is committed to creating miniaturized, integrated, and flexible core components for the pan-robotics industry. It is the first manufacturer of commercial mass-produced dexterous hands in China and the only manufacturer in China that has delivered dexterous hands in large quantities.
Figure: Financing history of INSPIRE-ROBOTS (organized based on public information on the Internet, please make a correction if there are any incomplete points)
Jodell Robotics: Four rounds, over 170 million yuan
Established in 2018, Suzhou Jodell Robotics Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development and application of robot end effectors and unmanned picking technology. It develops and mass-produces more than ten types of products in five major series, including industrial-grade dexterous hands, intelligent electric grippers, electric suction cups, high-throughput rotary linear actuators, and multi-functional electric grippers.
Figure: Financing history of Jodell Robotics (organized based on public information on the Internet, please make a correction if there are any incomplete points)
Conclusion:
From the perspective of financing volume, the current ability of the dexterous hand track to attract money cannot match that of humanoid robot complete machine companies. Financing of 100 million yuan is still a high-level case, far from forming the mainstream of capital accumulation. However, this does not prevent the dexterous hand from becoming one of the most growth-oriented directions in the upstream segment.
Compared with other components, the dexterous hand has highly integrated and highly heterogeneous complex properties. Not only does it have high technical barriers, but it also directly determines whether the robot can really “move and take actions”. Its strategic position is rising rapidly.
More noteworthy is that the dexterous hand is in a critical stage of transition from “verifying value” to “releasing value”.
On the one hand, the technical system behind it is accelerating maturity-micro motors, compliant structures, tactile sensing, soft and hard collaborative control and other core technologies are accelerating iterations, pushing the dexterous hand from the laboratory to commercialization.
On the other hand, with the accelerated pilot of humanoid robots in industrial collaboration, warehousing and logistics, service and nursing, rehabilitation and medical care, etc., the flexibility and precision of the end effector have gradually become the key factors restricting the practical application of the whole machine, and have further expanded the market space and bargaining power of the dexterous hand.
In this context, the capital’s increase in the dexterous hand is not a short-term trend, but a structural prediction of the development trend of the robot industry: when the “intelligent brain” and the “smart hand” can work together efficiently, it is the starting point of true embodied intelligence.
It can be foreseen that as the whole machine manufacturers continue to deepen vertical integration and upstream component companies accelerate horizontal cross-border, the dexterous hand will become the core hub connecting the three major systems of perception, control and execution. In the future, those dexterous hand products that can achieve the coexistence of versatility and scene adaptation, standardization and flexibility, will play a key role in the next industrial cycle.
Note:
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