Malaysia-based robotics provider, DF Automation & Robotics secures US$1.85 mil funding led by Vynn Capital
By Digital News Asia November 15, 2024
- Funding to fuel its expansion plans into more markets
- To design and manufacture autonomous mobile robots
.png "Malaysia-based robotics provider, DF Automation & Robotics secures US$1.85 mil funding led by Vynn Capital")
DF Automation & Robotics (DF Auto), a leading Malaysian robotics company with a global client base spanning across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Ireland, and Malta, has secured US$1.85 million (RM8.1 million) in funding to fuel its expansion plans.
The investment is led by Malaysia-based Vynn Capital, through its mobility and supply chain fund that is backed by KWAP, Sime Darby Bhd, MAVCAP, and other strategic limited partners. Existing investor Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), Japan’s Leave a Nest Capital as new investor, and various individual investors through equity crowdfunding made up the complete list of investors.
“I am thrilled to announce a strategic partnership and significant investment from Vynn Capital, Leave A Nest Capital, MTDC, and other strategic investors that came through our very well backed equity crowdfunding campaign on PitchIN. This investment will support our growth and expansion. Additionally, the strategic collaboration with our investment partners will enable us to leverage their extensive expertise in finance, business growth, and customer networking for the growth of DF Auto,” said Dr Yeong Che Fai, Co-Founder and CEO of DF Auto.
DF Auto was established in 2012 by three engineers with a passion for robotics who met at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), namely Dr Yeong Che Fai, Ricky Yap Wee Yang, and Tan Ping Hua. The three banded together wanting to provide a solution through robotic automation for the rising labour costs faced by the region’s thriving manufacturing industry.
Statista Market Insights estimates reveal that the global industrial robot segment will generate US$11.4 billion in revenue by 2029. In a fragmented industry where, smaller manufacturers dominate half the global industrial robotics market revenues in 2022, DF Auto is confident it can capture a meaningful market share within the next few years.
As a homegrown Malaysian startup, DF Auto has the capability to design and manufacture autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for various industries. An AMR is a mobile robot that can navigate autonomously from one location to another, making it highly useful for automating intralogistics in alignment with smart factory transformation.
Other benefits of AMRs include reducing labour dependency, increasing efficiency, and enhancing safety, particularly for tasks involving heavy and repetitive loads that pose risks to humans. DF Auto has several series of AMR models, namely Zalpha, Zetha, Zamma, Titan, and Zoei, each designed for different loads, purposes, and capabilities. The startup boasts a distinguished clientele, primarily comprising multinational corporations (MNCs) from key global industries. These sectors include semiconductor manufacturing, automotive, electronics and electrical (E&E), food and beverage (F&B), aerospace, and healthcare services. DF Auto exports its robots to numerous countries.
DF Auto has developed a reputation for pioneering technologies and customised solutions for their clients. Notable projects include Mak Cik Kiah 19 (MCK19), which assisted in distributing medicines and food to COVID patients’ rooms and more recently, Zoei, an AMR which can move in any direction in a 2-dimensional plane through its omnidirectional navigation capability allowing the AMR to perform tasks faster and enhance safety. Moreover, its in-house operating system, Navigation Wizard (NavWiz) and DFleet, in addition to the extensive maintenance support that DF Auto offers to its global client base, creates an integrated user-friendly ecosystem across its broad range of products.
“With the significant growth in Malaysia’s semiconductor and manufacturing industries, DF Auto is well-positioned to be a part of this growth story. As a venture capital firm, we stand behind great founders who can observe long-term opportunities and be able to build meaningful products that are customer centric. We believe the team in DF Auto is ready to bring the business to the next level, and hence Vynn Capital is ready to support the team with the ecosystem that we have built", said Victor Chua, Vynn Capital’s Founding & Managing Partner.
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