2021.08.20 CoStone Capital Views:
SmartMore closed its $200Mn dollars series B funding, emerging as a unicorn. After participated in series A funding, CoStone Capital enhances its investment in series B funding.
On the foundation of technical advantage, questions such as changing its technical advantage to product advantage, matching with the market demand, and putting the technology into specific industry are a tough challenge for a start-up technology company. To answer that, SmartMore’s technology and business team go hand-in-hand to present a perfect answer.
The industry is experiencing a transition from digital to intelligent setting. As one of the new generations of AI companies, SmartMore focuses on the development of Empowering Industries. From CoStone Capital’s initial investment to now, the team created the first global industrial AI operating system, providing services for over ten top customers in the industry within a year. According to CoStone, “SmartMore’s sophisticated expertise and solid practicability truly impressed us. We hope the enterprise will continue promote the industrial development and lead an innovation.” To define the range of enabling, SmartMore decided to focus on intelligent manufacture at the start of its establishment, paving a solid path for AI industrialization. Furthermore, SmartMore also leap from software algorithm to software and hardware integration products. Up till today, SmartMore had already produced over 30 intelligent manufactured integration products in the fields of vehicle manufacture, consumer electronics, semiconductor, and precision optics.
Take vehicle manufacture as an example. Last October, SmartMore's bearing AI examination machine has been trial operated on the production line in one of the top 500 global automobile components manufacturer. This product greatly shortened the original examination process, automatically detecting 23 types of defections. Not only can this product increase the efficiency of quality inspection to 80%, but it also increases the accuracy of inspection close to 100%. Now, the product is officially launched. This is also the first time the company introduced AI products into its mainstream product line of passenger car.
In the field of precision optics, SmartMore cooperated with the leading global optical enterprise to build an intelligent factory. After 4 months of developing material and breakthrough in AI technology, SmartMore is the first to achieve auto-coding and reading QR code on optical lens. SmartMore also successfully developed AI lens recognition, analysis, sorting, and packaging integrated machine. This machine may print an invisible QR code on every lens, meaning the lens is equipped with invisible “ID card.” With SmartMore’s integrated machine, it can analysis over 50 types of data in 0.2 secs, such as lens degree, color and supplier. Now, this product from SmartMore is launched in multiple world-wide factories.
In the field of semiconductor, SmartMore is working with several national key enterprises. From Wafer inspection and PCB inspection to chip process analysis, SmartMore published several AI+ solutions and software and hardware integrated equipment. Due to the high misjudgment rate of traditional AOI quality inspection equipment, it often requires manpower to re-inspect the product, which lowers the efficiency of production. With the accumulation of strong algorithm ability, SmartMore's product can quickly analyze, identify and estimate on various defect types. Currently, the accuracy is 99.99%, achieving closed-loop control from equipment process optimization to product quality improvement.
Forming a complete AI intelligent system, SmartMore has launched multiple software and hardware products. The products involve in a variety of aspects, such as SMore ViMo, an industrial AI platform; SMore ViScanner, intelligent code scanners; SMore ViNeo, a smart camera etc. In the future, SmartMore will take a step further into the transformation of traditional manufacture industry to intelligent manufacture industry, create a bright future with its partners.
Rewriting by Kong Xiaomei; Editing by Du Zhixin and Li Yunzhen.
The year 2019 marks the fortieth anniversary of China’s Reform &Opening-Up, once again, we meet at the turning point of history. What’s the next step for the game, is there any clear guidance? The answer is affirmative.
Our country is enjoying a good momentum of development, which does not come from the Washington Consensus nor the Beijing Consensus. China’s experience has proved that both the visible hand and the invisible hand are crucial: the visible hand, stands for the government-led reform, and would yield benefits for reform and opening up; the invisible hand, stands for the Marginal Power represented by the private sector, and would improve economic efficiency and tax collection, create jobs and employment opportunities.
Provided that we want to protect and expand the benefits form reform, three simple but mandatory agreements are to be made and followed: No.1 Private ownership must be recognized, protected and treated equally with public ownership constitutionally, both ownerships are scared and inviolable;No.2 Make further clarification of the principal position of market economy, “deepen economic system reform by centering on the decisive role of the market in allocating resources”, as President Xi addressed in the third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee;No.3 Implement the guiding principles of “comprehensively promoting law-based governance” of the fourth plenum. The rule of law is essential for economic growth, irreplaceable to protect private ownership, and necessary to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
Above are three rules for us to avoid falling into the Middle-income Trap. Assuming that we are breaking systematic barriers to private enterprises’ participation in market economy, and boosting innovation and entrepreneurship of our society, then we are heading towards a promoting direction. We are marching in the path of light, regardless of the ups and downs of Sino-US relationship, the drop in GDP growth rate, or the monetary policy.
These principals also apply on knowing how better to run a business: don’t be hedged by rules and regulations at the beginning, pay more attention to your survival, and you’ll learn more when you start your second business.
For many years, Huawei has been the only Chinese company on the list of the Top 50 R&D Spenders. Regardless of the economy and its income, what Huawei has been doing is investing in its future, dedicated to R&D, continuously and resolutely. This provisional work underscores Huawei’s accomplishments, making Huawei anindustry leader.
So, there are standard answers on how to run a company,which could be summarized as concentration and professional dedication, continuous investment on innovation and trying harder in R&D. Entrepreneurship is also important, every single company needs entrepreneurs to push aside all obstacles and difficulties, to implement strategies and ideas. We, as investors, are destined to look for such outstanding entrepreneurs and their companies, invest in them and partner with them.
At this key point of history, a country, a company, or asingle individual, will all need to find the right path. Four decades after the Reform and Opening-up, it’s time to learn from our experience and stop “wadding across
