Megagenics Completes $300 Million Series C Funding Round Led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Asia Investment Capital, and GGV Capital
MegaRobo
Robot Developer
VCBeat has learned that on June 15, 2022, MEGA Robo announced the completion of approximately $300 million in Series C financing. The round was co-led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, CIC Capital, and GGV Capital, with existing investor Sinovation Ventures making a significant oversubscription. Other participating investors included Pavilion Capital, Starr Capital, Yu Meng Capital, Hongwei Capital, Yuanfeng Capital, and Taihe Capital. Meanwhile, a leading domestic biotechnology enterprise also participated in this round, becoming another strategic investor in MEGA Robo following giants from the CXO and automation industries. The two parties have already launched extensive collaboration in automated solutions for biomacromolecules. The funds raised will be used to further deepen MEGA Robo’s R&D investment and expand production capacity in the field of intelligent automation for life sciences, while actively expanding business operations and accelerating internationalization.
Over the past decade, the number and scale of small and mid-sized biotechnology companies have continued to grow. Accelerated capital infusion, coupled with the expanding industry size in the Asia-Pacific region, has driven a rapid increase in R&D investment within the life sciences sector. Enhancing efficiency and optimizing resources have become critical pain points urgently needing resolution in industry development. Intelligent automation is the inevitable solution to address this challenge and has the potential to redefine efficiency standards for next-generation life science laboratories.
Since its establishment in 2016, Megarobo has provided a comprehensive suite of automation solutions for the life sciences industry, ranging from automated workflows for simple benchtop operations to fully automated solutions that handle complex steps in large-scale system applications, and extending to next-generation life sciences infrastructure and systems that empower AI-driven drug discovery services. To address growing labor demands and throughput limitations, Megarobo’s workflow automation integrates AI software, analytical instruments, laboratory hardware, and experimental consumables into a single laboratory system, enabling intelligent coordination of processes and experiments across diverse scenarios. Compared with traditional laboratory systems, Megarobo delivers higher efficiency and more stable experimental results in various life science application areas, including antibody selection, cell line development, and molecular screening, and has been deployed and put into operation in multiple countries worldwide.
(MegaRobo Life Sciences Automation Solutions)
Meanwhile, Megarobo is dedicated to building the next-generation life sciences infrastructure—the Megarobo Kunpeng Laboratory. It has established deep strategic collaborations with multiple leading companies in the life sciences sector to construct infrastructure and platforms that optimize R&D processes and enhance efficiency. The company is actively exploring frontier research in life sciences and has achieved significant progress in several specialized vertical domains within the field.
In the field of cell and gene therapy, MEGAROBO and Agilent jointly develop comprehensive automated solutions for synthetic biology, biopharmaceutical R&D, and other areas; and partner with Cejianyi to establish standardized, automated platforms for the testing and analysis of mRNA, viral vectors, and more.
In the field of gene editing, Megarobo has constructed a large-scale CRISPR plasmid library through its self-developed MegaMolecule fully automated molecular experimentation platform. By integrating this with the cell culture and imaging systems of its MegaCell fully automated cellular experimentation platform, the company accumulates standardized cellular phenotypic images and omics data at a speed dozens of times faster than manual experiments.
In the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), MEGAROBOT has collaborated with the Medical Experimental Center of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences to successfully establish an automated experimental and data platform for in vitro model screening of TCM formulations against diseases, and jointly developed a TCM target cell library.
In the field of organoids, Megarobo has partnered with Cellada Biology to achieve high-throughput, standardized, large-scale organoid culture and testing. To date, they have successfully cultivated dozens of highly valuable organoid models, including cardiac organoids exhibiting two-band beating patterns and distinct chamber structures, as well as brain organoids featuring ventricles and clear neural architectures.
(Formation of Brain-like Structures)
In addition to its strategic layout and exploration in frontier areas of life sciences, Megarobo has been actively engaged on the front lines of the global fight against COVID-19. It rapidly developed a rich, iteratively updated product portfolio, ranging from high-throughput sample pre-processing systems and fully automated viral nucleic acid testing systems capable of “tube-in, result-out” processing, to fully automated mobile container laboratories and fully automated high-throughput antigen reagent production solutions. These innovations have significantly improved testing efficiency and accuracy while reducing the risk of infection for frontline healthcare workers.
Dr. Wang Chengzhi, Chief Scientist at Megarobo, stated“By deeply integrating intelligent and automated technologies with life sciences, Megarobo has significantly enhanced the efficiency of biopharmaceutical R&D and production across numerous fields. Through its large-scale automated experimental platforms, Megarobo collaborates with multiple leading institutions to build standardized, structured biological databases for next-generation AI-driven research and development. This financing round will help Megarobo further strengthen the closed-loop capability of ‘automation + artificial intelligence + life sciences,’ thereby building and refining next-generation life science infrastructure characterized by intelligent automation.”
Mr. Liu Erfei, Founding Partner and CEO of Asia Investment Capital, stated“ADB Capital has long focused on opportunities for the automation and intelligent upgrading of industries. With its outstanding technological and commercial capabilities, MEGAROBOTICS has gained recognition from numerous leading clients in the life sciences sector. We are optimistic about MEGAROBOTICS’ combined capabilities in automation and artificial intelligence, its extensive industry experience accumulated over many years, and its innovative spirit in continuously exploring frontier fields. Building on automation and digitalization, MEGAROBOTICS will drive the intelligent development of the life sciences industry, continuously expand the depth and breadth of its business, and enhance efficiency and create value for industry development.”
Mr. Ding Yiming, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management focusing on private equity investments in the healthcare sector, stated“The global market for life sciences automation boasts broad growth prospects. With the continued rapid development of the life sciences sector, we anticipate that bottlenecks in production scale and R&D talent will drive a significant increase in automation penetration within this field. Megarobo provides customers with comprehensive automation solutions and has demonstrated sustained innovation and product iteration capabilities. As long-term investors in the global life sciences industry, we are honored to participate in and support Megarobo’s future development.”
"As a long-standing partner that has consistently supported Megarobo's progress, Mr. Yang Xiaolong, Partner at Sinovation Ventures, stated"“In an era of opportunity marked by the deep integration of AI and automation technologies into advanced industries, Megarobo has achieved substantial growth over the past few years. By leveraging automation technology to significantly enhance efficiency in the biological and chemical sectors, the company has driven qualitative transformations that propel industry upgrades, thereby extending its core competitiveness to other cutting-edge fields. Sinovation Ventures is honored to have been a witness and companion throughout this journey, which has been filled with inspiration and moving moments. The people of Megarobo are ambitious yet grounded, continuously challenging, upgrading, and transforming themselves within just a few years. This has fostered the ‘Megarobo Spirit’—one of rising to meet challenges and maintaining an ‘Always Day One’ mindset. With the addition of more capital partners, Megarobo has officially joined the ranks of unicorns. However, we believe this is only the beginning, and we hope that more talented individuals and partners will join this great endeavor, working together to advance human life through technology and care.”
Mr. Huang Yuqing, Founder and CEO of Megarobo, stated“This financing round marks a significant milestone in MEGARobo’s development. We are deeply honored to join hands with numerous top-tier institutional investors and partners. We firmly believe that intelligent automation is an unstoppable trend in the life sciences sector. MEGARobo will continue to deepen its vertical expertise by strengthening its R&D and technological capabilities, while actively pursuing horizontal expansion to extend and empower industries such as energy and chemicals, food safety, applied chemistry, and semiconductors with intelligent automation technologies. In doing so, we aim to facilitate industrial upgrading and transformation across more sectors, truly fulfilling our vision and mission of ‘creating a more efficient, healthier, and better world for everyone.’”