Review: From AGVs to AMRs—Why Have Logistics Robots Become Capital’s Darling?

“In the robotics arena, the future will undoubtedly be dominated by Chinese players.”

With no machine hum and no human movement, the vast warehouse is filled only with logistics robots moving nimbly back and forth—handling everything from sorting and transporting to stacking, with no human in sight throughout the entire process. This isn’t a scene from a movie—it’s what unfolds in the warehouse of a logistics company. Recently, Future Robot secured RMB 500 million in its C+ round of equity financing, while at the same time, JieXiang LingYue also announced that it had raised pre-A‑round funding. According to incomplete data from Guangzhui Intelligence, Among logistics robot companies, Since the beginning of 2022, five companies have secured funding rounds exceeding RMB 100 million each, with total financing surpassing RMB 1 billion. Among the robotics companies involved, KuaiCang and Huicang are two of the earliest established. This year, Huicang… In February, SF Express secured strategic financing, while Kuicang raised nearly RMB 1 billion in its C+ round at the end of 2020. According to data from the China Mobile Robot (AGV/AMR) Industry Alliance, in 2021 the Chinese industrial mobile robotics sector saw a total of 29 financing deals, amounting to over RMB 4 billion, with deals exceeding RMB 100 million accounting for 38% of the total. The sector has attracted major investors such as Sequoia Capital China, IDG Capital, Gaorong Capital, Wuyuan Capital, and GGV Capital. Meanwhile, With major players such as Alibaba, JD.com, and SF Express ramping up their investments, logistics robots are experiencing robust growth, fueled by the broader momentum of smart logistics.

Recently, capital has been pouring into the logistics‑robotics sector, and this surge reflects growing market certainty. After years of technological refinement and development, domestic logistics robots have already paved the way. “The deep waters” are on the cusp of large-scale commercial deployment, marking the optimal phase for strategic positioning on the Gartner Hype Cycle.

01 From Automation to Intelligent Logistics Robots ROI improvement

Every year's 618, Double 11, and other holiday sales events are the busiest periods for the e-commerce industry. Inside a clothing logistics‑supply‑chain warehouse, the explosive surge in Double 11 orders has turned what was once a quiet facility into a bustling hub. Hundreds of Kuicang units AMR logistics robots operate seamlessly throughout a warehouse spanning over a thousand square meters, automating the entire process—from handling goods and adjusting inventory locations to picking items.

The image shows the intelligent solution provided by Kuicang for apparel logistics‑supply‑chain warehouses.  

Due to the nature of the apparel logistics industry, warehouses involve diverse scenarios, complex workflows, and massive volumes. In complex scenarios such as SKU management and multi‑factor, fluctuating shipment dynamics, a more flexible, intelligent, and efficient smart logistics solution is required—leveraging intelligent software systems to optimize business data and operational insights through big‑data algorithms. And AMR logistics robots not only replace manual labor in handling and picking, precisely aligning with production rhythms, but also leverage intelligent software systems to perform algorithmic analysis on big data. By optimizing storage locations and dynamically shifting high-demand items closer to the shipping area, they enhance warehouse operations, improve logistics management, and enable more efficient and cost-effective order-picking processes. “What truly imbues intelligent warehousing with its soul is the underlying intelligent software system, and this is also where the core competitive barrier of logistics robots lies.” Quick Warehouse CEO Yang Wei told Guangzhui Intelligence that, unlike AGVs, AMRs have broken free from their previous reliance on external infrastructure such as magnetic strips, guide rails, and QR codes. Leveraging environmental perception, AI algorithms, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and path planning, AMRs can interpret commands rather than merely execute them. In complex scenarios—such as enabling human–robot interaction, vehicle–path coordination, and advanced path‑planning—these capabilities depend on a more sophisticated “brain” and more sensitive sensing systems. Meanwhile, advances in visual algorithms allow AMRs to perform agile obstacle avoidance, significantly boosting the operational efficiency of logistics robots. From the traditional AGVs are giving way to next-generation AMRs, as logistics robots evolve from automation toward self-perception, self-adaptation, and autonomous decision-making. After years of development, driven by refined technologies and extensive real-world deployment, intelligent logistics robots now support an ever-expanding range of applications—spanning retail to manufacturing. Whether in the new‑energy, automotive, or 3C electronics sectors, or in food and pharmaceuticals, AMRs have already been successfully implemented across multiple use cases. Currently, in handling scenarios, AMR product offerings are primarily concentrated in two major categories: forklifts and mobile chassis robots. Although both aim to replace human labor, their implementation approaches differ slightly. Unmanned forklifts represent a rapidly emerging niche segment. Addressing persistent pain points such as repetitive material handling, high labor intensity, harsh working conditions, and stringent environmental requirements, Movim Robot has unlocked capabilities for high‑level storage and retrieval, wooden pallet stacking, unmanned loading and unloading, automated warehouse integration, and collaborative operations with robotic arms. During handling operations, unmanned forklifts can achieve lifting heights of A telescoping height of 10 meters, with positioning accuracy maintained within ±5 mm and a travel speed of up to 3 m/s. In the view of Wang Chuanlong, CMO of Movim Robot, forklifts are an essential requirement in factories and warehouses, playing a critical role in ground-level material handling and high‑level storage and retrieval. Driven by the need to reduce costs and boost efficiency, replacing manual labor with autonomous forklifts has become the obvious choice. Taking projects in the new‑energy sector as an example, lithium‑battery manufacturing is divided into three major process stages: the front end—feeding, slurry mixing, coating, calendering, and slitting; the mid‑end—winding, cell formation, casing, electrolyte injection, and sealing; and the back end—formation, capacity grading, PACK assembly, and warehousing & logistics. Movim’s robots primarily handle the fabrication of energy‑storage cabinets and material handling. Energy‑storage cabinets are large and heavy, making manual handling extremely labor‑intensive. Moreover, lithium‑battery production places great emphasis on seamless line integration, demanding tight control over handling cycles. Relying on human operators presents significant management challenges across different processes and can lead to misalignment in inter‑process coordination. To address these issues, Movim has deployed six wide‑leg, clamp‑type autonomous forklifts—the MW‑AS35B—along with a dispatching system (RCS), a warehouse management system (WMS), Wi‑Fi connectivity, and a warehouse control system (WCS). Reduce staff for the project With a team of four, efficiency improved by 10%, enabling fully automated, flexible production-line manufacturing and logistics upgrades.

The image shows the Mowei unmanned forklift. MW-AS35B

Robots are used to reduce costs and improve efficiency, so… ROI is the decisive factor in a factory’s decision to adopt robotics. Guangcong Intelligence has found that the payback period for unmanned forklifts typically ranges from six months to about two years, and this timeframe is expected to shorten further as costs continue to decline. Except for use in handling In addition to AMR logistics robots, robots for sorting and storage applications are also being increasingly deployed. Automated vertical storage is a key area undergoing transformation. In an automation‑upgrade project undertaken in collaboration with a leading bathroom‑fixture brand, Huicang installed a high‑speed, intelligent automated storage and retrieval system—covering 35 square meters, standing 12 meters tall, and equipped with eight Huicang robots—in the wall‑adjacent area of the brand’s production line. This system is designed to gradually replace the green plastic bins on the shop floor, which currently hold component parts and consumables. The automated storage and retrieval system has a total of More than 3,000 storage locations, managed by eight robots, have elevated the digitalization of physical resources across the entire workshop.

The image shows the automated storage solution provided by Huicang for a leading bathroom fixtures brand. “Hui Cang Ferris Wheel”

“If this case were handled with a conventional, floor‑level robotic‑fleet approach, it would fail to capitalize on the customer’s 14‑meter‑high warehouse ceiling. The HuiCang three‑dimensional storage solution offers a clear advantage: its “vertical‑warehouse” design significantly reduces land‑use requirements. By contrast, deploying more than 3,000 green bins across the floor would consume hundreds or even thousands of square meters, hindering smooth workshop operations. In contrast, HuiCang’s smart‑equipment‑based solution requires only 35 square meters. Furthermore, we’ve integrated a ‘goods‑to‑person’ pre‑storage workstation into the project, seamlessly linking to the workshop’s production processes and boosting overall efficiency,” said Zhu Junda, founder and CEO of HuiCang, to Guang锥 Intelligence. Beyond differences in application scenarios, HuiCang also sets itself apart from logistics robots used in other material-handling contexts through its core technology. HuiCang’s robots do not rely on machine-vision systems; instead, they primarily depend on swarm‑based scheduling. Robot operations on vertical storage racks differ from those on the ground; within the three-dimensional rail‑based workspace, real‑time communication and control of high‑speed robots demand exceptionally high performance. At the same time, the larger the robot fleet, the more stringent the reliability requirements become. Consequently, achieving efficient swarm scheduling and algorithmic optimization for multiple robots represents a significant technical challenge for Huicang. According to Zhu Junda, more than 60% of the company’s workforce is dedicated to R&D, with the majority focusing on algorithm and software development. Starting from initial systems that deployed only a handful of robots per single automated warehouse, the company has, over several years, advanced to solutions capable of supporting robot swarms of up to 40 units per installation. Leveraging the coordinated operation of these robot clusters, Huicang’s “Ferris Wheel” system attains an inbound/outbound throughput of 1,000 bins per hour—far surpassing the 80 bins per hour typical of conventional automated warehouses. Meanwhile, the automated storage and retrieval system solutions can also be integrated with… Integration of AGV/AMR handling robots. “Now, some customers are integrating AGVs with our equipment. They first install our vertical racking systems and then deploy a few AGV robots to operate externally, which both saves space and boosts efficiency,” said Zhu Junda. From this perspective, smart logistics solutions have never been limited to a single-use case; rather, they rely on end-to-end coordination and collaboration. It is foreseeable that the future logistics‑robotics market will also break down… “Islanded systems” have evolved from operating in silos to achieving seamless integration, empowering a broader range of application scenarios. Having completed the phases of technological refinement and product optimization, and with the deployment of an increasing number of commercial use cases, logistics robots are poised to enter large-scale mass production.

02 Mass production is accelerating.

Under the trend of transitioning from automation to intelligence, logistics robots have gradually become highly sought after. “A hot commodity.” According to statistics from the Gaogong Robot Industry Research Institute (GGII), in 2021, total sales of mobile robots in the Chinese market reached 61,100 units (excluding exports), up 58.17% year over year. Demand was particularly strong across manufacturing sectors such as 3C, lithium batteries, new-energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and semiconductors. Behind the robust market demand lies the fact that domestic logistics robot products have entered a relatively mature stage. From… From AGVs to AMRs, the industry has undergone a spiral‑shaped trajectory of growth. The first-generation magnetic‑navigation AGVs required guide rails to be laid on the floor, with the robots following a fixed guidance path. This approach lacked flexibility, and in real‑world production, worn or damaged floor markings could even lead to derailment. With the advent of second-generation landmark-based navigation, which relies primarily on QR codes as its main navigational method. AGVs use cameras to recognize QR codes for shelf assignment and robot navigation, yet they still bear the hallmarks of the first-generation designs.
 

The figure shows the iterative evolution of logistics robots.

As autonomous driving technology continues to mature, visual‑algorithm‑based navigation… AMR’s third-generation robot can be regarded as a relatively mature “product.” Once a product enters the maturity stage, large-scale mass production begins to take center stage. How can we achieve this? Product standardization is the first step. “From the first generation to the current third‑generation product, Kuicang’s intelligent logistics robots have undergone significant optimization and iteration in product standardization, reducing the number of components by nearly 20%,” Yang Wei told Guangzhui Intelligence. The underlying significance is that this ensures consistency in production and assembly, driving the product toward greater modularity and standardization. Once products are standardized, both after‑sales service and quality control see substantial improvements, while manufacturing costs can also be further reduced. Achieve “Volume sales” require standardized products, whereas customization is one of the major obstacles. Wang Chuanlong believes that, from a cost‑efficiency perspective, product standardization remains the overarching trend in the industry. However, even though robot manufacturers offer standardized products, many customers’ on‑site conditions are non‑standard, requiring field surveys to devise tailored solutions—factors such as site speed and equipment size demand extensive preliminary research. Moreover, project delivery hinges on the implementation team; prolonged timelines inevitably drive up costs. Today, the deployment of logistics robots is beginning to scale. According to data from the China Mobile Robot Industry Alliance, sales of industrial mobile robots in China reached 72,000 units in 2021. Amid fierce competition among vendors, rapid delivery has become a key differentiator. “For the same site,” Wang Chuanlong told Guangzhui Intelligence, “some companies may take two or three months—or even half a year—while Mowei can typically achieve swift delivery in about one month.” It is reported that, at present, the gross profit margin of some logistics robot companies’ integrated hardware-and-software solutions stands at… Around 50% to 60%, a gross margin that is by no means low in the robotics industry.   Beyond delivery costs, the more critical factor is reducing the hardware manufacturing costs of robots.   The costs of logistics robots are primarily concentrated in upstream components, such as core controllers, drives, and so on. For example, Take AMR as an example: the price of a single LiDAR ranges from roughly RMB 20,000–30,000 to several hundred thousand yuan, and this does not even account for the costs of various control and localization technology modules. Accordingly, how to control “Hard costs” are what many logistics‑robot manufacturers are both contemplating and addressing. As supply chains continue to mature, the prices of logistics‑robot‑related components have dropped significantly. Meanwhile, robot manufacturers are actively seeking components that offer even better value for money. Yang Wei told Guang锥 Intelligence that, in order to reduce product costs, KuaiCang has sought deep collaboration with upstream component suppliers to develop a more cost‑effective version, priced at just one‑third of the previous level. This approach aims to address the issues of reliance on branded components and excessively high pricing. In addition, many manufacturers are also introducing various configurations for logistics robots. “High, medium, and low” — several different levels. “If customers place a strong emphasis on cost-effectiveness, the standard‑version logistics robot can meet their basic needs. To address more granular market demands, KuaiCang offers two distinct versions of the same product—the Basic Edition and the Intelligent Edition—allowing customers to select based on their specific operational scenarios. Moreover, KuaiCang enables flexible scaling of its solutions; much like LEGO bricks, it can be easily reconfigured as customers’ business needs evolve, thereby reducing their upfront capital investment,” said Yang Wei.

The image shows Kuicang’s full product lineup.

Whether it’s product standardization or the reduction of supply-chain costs, both are accelerating the large-scale mass production of logistics robots. And as mass production drives costs even lower, customer adoption will be further boosted. The logistics‑robot industry is now experiencing a virtuous cycle of rising shipments and surging demand.  

03 Going overseas “Ride the wind and break the waves”

As logistics robots are making inroads in China, While maintaining a “fast track” momentum, it is also experiencing rapid growth in overseas markets. “We expect the overseas market to experience explosive growth this year, and KuaiCang’s overseas order volume will increase significantly,” Yang Wei told Guangzhui Intelligence. Meanwhile, according to information obtained by Guangzhui Intelligence, in the first three quarters of last year, overseas revenue accounted for roughly 25% of Huicang’s total, with overseas orders representing nearly one-third of the full-year total. This year, however, the overseas market has been growing at a faster pace than the domestic market, and in the first quarter, the share of overseas orders has already risen to nearly 40%. Although the unmanned forklift market is still in its early stages, Movim has placed great emphasis on expanding internationally. In April, Movim showcased its solutions at the Korea Smart Factory & Automation Exhibition, accelerating its presence in Japan and South Korea. In 2021, Movim initially focused on markets such as Southeast Asia—particularly Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam—and, following a year of testing, it is reported that Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia will be among its key priorities for 2022. Having reaped the benefits of overseas markets, Chinese logistics‑robot companies have become increasingly eager to expand abroad. So why is there such explosive growth in demand for Chinese logistics robots in international markets? As the global COVID‑19 pandemic becomes increasingly normalized, companies are accelerating their intelligent upgrades through “replacing humans with machines.” With labor costs remaining high, for developed economies such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea, substituting robots for human workers is a more cost‑effective solution. Similarly, in Southeast Asian countries and regions that rely heavily on labor‑intensive industries, demand for logistics robots is steadily rising. “Kuaicang’s overseas markets are primarily concentrated in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe, with Europe ranking highest in priority,” Yang Wei told us when explaining why Europe has been chosen as its key international market. High labor costs and pandemic-related uncertainties have driven overall strong demand for mobile robots in the European market. In addition, traditional automation equipment across Europe is likewise in need of intelligent solutions to facilitate upgrades and replacements.

The picture shows At CeMAT, foreign visitors stopped to take photos of the carton-picking solution.

“The rapid growth of our overseas market share is primarily driven by our core competencies. In the realm of intelligent technologies, China’s leading companies have now reached parity with their international counterparts, positioning the country to become a global leader in this field.” In Zhu Junda’s view, the swift expansion of overseas markets continues to stem from the core strengths of domestic manufacturers. From the perspective of the global robotics landscape, China and the United States are the dominant players. However, compared with domestic logistics robots, U.S.-made products do not enjoy a price advantage. Meanwhile, after decades of catching up, China has reached parity with the world’s leading standards in terms of intelligence; from a cost‑benefit standpoint, Chinese robots offer superior value for money. As a result, China’s logistics robots have stood out in international competition thanks to their price competitiveness and high-quality products. Yang Wei said, “Last year, benefiting from the rapid growth of cross-border e‑commerce overseas warehouses, we provided smart robotic solutions to numerous such facilities, with nearly 40% of our business now tied to this segment. At the same time, by leveraging the global backbone network we’ve built together with Cainiao Network and continuously empowering cross‑border e‑commerce players overseas, we’ve gained a clear understanding of the specific use cases and pain points in overseas e‑commerce warehousing. This enables us to better focus our efforts and refine our positioning, allowing us to deeply address and fully meet the operational needs of these customers.” Due to the overseas market’s scale, supply chain, pricing, and product variety—none of which have kept pace with China’s rapid growth over the past two years—Chinese logistics‑robot manufacturers, after years of customer base building and technological refinement, are now generally able to meet the needs of international clients. From a global robotics perspective, whether in terms of supply-chain maturity, product-category sophistication, manufacturing costs, or production efficiency, Chinese robots boast the strongest competitive edge when expanding overseas. Behind the shifting landscape of the global logistics‑robot market lie substantial opportunities for international growth. As Bai Zongyi, founding partner at Yaotu Capital, noted in his conversation with Guangzhui Intelligence, “China enjoys a distinct supply-chain advantage; in the robotics sector, the future will undoubtedly be dominated by Chinese players.”