The COVID-19 outbreak has caused investment contraction between 50% to 57% year-on-year in Q1 2020, setting off a difficult funding situation both in China and worldwide. Our latest white paper, “How is COVID-19 Shaping China’s Robotics Industry?: Risks, Opportunities, and Lessons Learnt” highlights that a decent recovery was estimated for the rest of 2020. The USD 8 billion robotics industry now projects a positive long-term growth outlook in the manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare sectors.
China’s venture capital hit a record high total of USD 110.4 billion in 2018 but declined over the next two years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus outbreak has impacted the funding landscape due to challenges such as very selective investment decisions and lowered valuation as the due diligence process gets more strenuous.
The Way Forward for Start-ups
Based on our research, some industry trends below are promising a bright outlook in the coming years to come:
- Industrial Robotics: Short-term demand dampened by factories' tight cash flows, but positive growth in long-term
- Service & Special Service Robots: Positive growth due to continued effort to minimize human contact and increase efficiency
- Pandemic-generated robotics and automation demand are here to stay
The pandemic can be an accelerator for businesses to adopt new technologies. Start-ups, among the affected ecosystem, can reverse the situation through strategizing to discover potential opportunities. Three strategies can be implemented, such as to be customer-centric, sensitive in utilizing new opportunities, and be socially responsible. Download the report to find out more about the future of the Robotics industry in China post-COVID-19 pandemic.