Industrial smart sensor is a track that requires long-term accumulation and concentration. Chevening Technology has been positioned from the very beginning to be precision intelligence, quality sensing, import substitution, and value-added services. For 12 years, we have been helping users become the industry leader. A mission to support. Potential Capital is a technology investment bank that has been focusing on the hard technology track for a long time. The founders have a long-term background and genes in the industrial scene. They are not only pragmatic and rigorous, but also a rare team in the industry who understands industrial sensing. We also look forward to the future development process. move forward hand in hand.

——Founder & CEO of Chevening Technology Tang Kexin

Recently, “Chevening Technology”, a provider of industrial smart sensor solutions, announced that it has completed its Series A+ financing of nearly 10 million US dollars, led by Shunwei Capital and jointly invested by Yiheda.

This round of financing will be mainly used for two aspects. First, in terms of R&D, the company will continue to expand the underlying R&D team to support optoelectronic underlying devices, chips, and optical R&D. At the same time, it will build 5 laboratories including precision optics to upgrade intelligent workshops and increase production capacity. Second, in terms of business, continue to upgrade the company's various For the business flow of the department, 6 new offices have been added to form a service network that can support 200 core dealers and 40,000 users, further improve customer experience and service speed, and provide more comprehensive industrial smart sensor solutions.

Founded in 2010, Chevening Technology mainly focuses on the development of industrial-grade smart sensors for the 3C electronics, new energy, semiconductor process, medical electronics and service robot industries, providing high-precision positioning, image recognition, precision measurement and obstacle avoidance safety. Sophisticated intelligence and AI sensing solutions including.

In recent years, the rapid development of the Industrial Internet of Things has greatly stimulated the explosion of the industrial sensor market. As one of the important devices in the industrial field, smart sensors can be widely used in 3C electronics, lithium batteries/photovoltaics, smart logistics, semiconductors, medical testing, engineering In the fields of machinery and other fields, the demand for domestic substitution has grown significantly.

According to MarketsandMarkets report data, the global industrial sensor market is expected to grow from $20.6 billion in 2021 to $31.9 billion in 2026, and the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% from 2021 to 2026 increase.

But for a long time, the global industrial sensor market is mainly occupied by foreign brands such as Omron OMRON, Panasonic Panasonic, SICK, KEYENCE, etc. In addition, they have accumulated in the layout of new semiconductor materials and core technology patents. The conversion rate is relatively low, about 30%, and it faces challenges such as lack of core technology, excess low-end products, and serious product homogeneity.

According to Tang Xinxin, founder and CEO of Chevening Technology, industrial smart sensors need to improve their brand power and build a sales network in addition to the underlying technology. Tang Xinxin said that the company was initially established as an agent for German industrial sensor brands. In 2011, the Meiji sensor (meijidenki) brand was established, and the initial product line was formed through strategic cooperation with Taiwan SCAN Company. In 2014, it began to independently develop industrial optoelectronics. sensor products.

Today, Chevening Technology has built four product lines of precision positioning sensors, deep learning, precision measurement sensors, and safety obstacle avoidance sensors, covering 14 categories and 93 different series. Among them, the core of the company is the two categories of precision positioning sensors and precision measurement sensors. For example, in the power battery manufacturing process, Meiji Sensor can provide power battery pole piece thickness measurement, color recognition, single and double sheet detection, micron-level laser correction, coating thickness measurement products, and deep learning-based defect and scratch detection, The AI ​​sensing solution for intelligent code reading and security protection can also support customized sensor services for special scenarios such as copper-free scenarios, high temperature sensing, and dry and strong acid environments.

Tang Kexin said that the company's core competitive advantage lies in its leading optoelectronic technology, AI underlying R&D capabilities, industrial-grade sensor R&D capabilities, optical forward design capabilities, and precision process platform support, covering everything from chips, algorithms, to materials, optics and In terms of precision engineering, etc., our products can better cope with harsh industrial environments. In addition, Chevening's packaging process can improve the consistency of products and ensure the stable use of products in industrial sites.

"Compared with our peers, we are a concept-driven industrial-grade sensor company that can penetrate the bottom layer and have positive R&D capabilities. Our differentiation is that we can not only provide high-quality, high-precision, intelligent integrated industrial sensor products, It can also provide an excellent one-stop user experience." Tang Xin said.

The realization of this series of capabilities is closely related to the team of Chevening Technology. The company has a team of nearly 300 people, and R&D personnel account for more than 30%. The core team comes from well-known companies such as Siemens, Huawei, Intel, Honeywell, Eaton, Sick, and Keyence, bringing together a group of outstanding scientists in the industry and engineer, with 20 years of industrial and technical experience in the field of industrial sensing.

Today, Chevening Technology has more than 120 core patents, and has R&D centers in Shenzhen and Changsha, with an annual production capacity of 10 million pieces. Among them, this year alone, Meiji sensor shipments will exceed 6 million, with more than 200 global agents, customers in 60 countries and regions, and more than 16,000 cooperative customers. Many of the world's top manufacturers, suppliers and integrators use our products to ensure that the products produced meet the quality requirements of users, including Apple, Huawei, Foxconn, Samsung, BYD, ATL, Sany Heavy Industry and other enterprises.

In terms of revenue, the company's revenue will continue to grow in 2021, and has achieved nearly 100 million yuan in revenue, of which more than 60% come from the 3C electronics and new energy markets. It is expected that this year's total revenue will increase by 120%. At the same time, the international market of Chevening Technology is also developing rapidly, and the international market revenue will account for nearly 20% in 2021.

In terms of system, Chevening Technology is comprehensively improving the business flow of new product development and listing, production, manufacturing and delivery, and sales and service. A clear and clear business flow is an important guarantee for Chevening to become a game-changer in the industry

"Although the epidemic has had a certain impact on the supply chain, we are alleviating the pressure on the supply chain by establishing safety stocks." Tang Xinxin mentioned that, on the other hand, the epidemic has also accelerated the development of unmanned and automated intelligent manufacturing. To a certain extent, it will benefit the growth of the industry.

In the next year, based on self-developed chips, experimental platforms and process systems, Chevening Technology will successively launch micron-level laser displacement, precision TOF ranging optoelectronics, high-precision fiber amplifiers, color sensors, smart code readers and vision sensors, IO-link series sensors and other products further upgrade the integration, high precision, easy operation and economy of the products. In addition, the company will accelerate the development of customized products based on customer needs, and provide one-stop smart sensor solutions for industrial customers.