Artificial intelligence (AI) collaborative robot (“cobot”) maker Techman Robot Inc (達明機器人), a subsidiary of Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), yesterday said it expects strong business performance this year, despite geopolitical uncertainties affecting the automation industry.
Techman reported NT$1.82 billion (US$56.71 million) in revenue for last year, up 23 percent year-on-year and driven mainly by its AI vision integration capabilities, Techman president Haw Chen (陳尚昊) told an earnings conference in Taipei.
The AI vision function helps address customers in applications such as handling and inspection, effectively differentiating Techman from other robotic arm suppliers, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
As end-users’ acceptance of its cobots increases, overall demand is expected to continue growing steadily this year, he said.
Last year, direct customers and system integrators contributed 42 percent to the company’s total sales, followed by distributors at 28 percent, Japan-based Omron Corp at 23 percent, Quanta at 6 percent and others at 1 percent, Techman said.
By region, China accounted for the largest share of sales at 29 percent, followed by Taiwan at 19 percent, Europe at 18 percent, Southeast Asia at 12 percent, Japan at 11 percent, the US at 7 percent and South Korea at 4 percent, the company said.
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for most of its sales this year, driven by China’s rising demand for semiconductor equipment and the integration of cobots with autonomous mobile robots in wafer fabs, Techman vice president William Wang (王偉霖) said.
In Taiwan, growth is expected to be supported by the expansion of Techman’s system integration business and supply to AI server makers’ factories, Wang said.
The company’s wheeled humanoid robot, TM Xplore I, equipped with Nvidia Corp’s Jetson Orin technology, is to begin a pilot run in the second half of this year with automotive and semiconductor customers, Chen said.
Techman’s humanoid robot strategy focuses on practical applications and prioritizes wheeled platforms over bipedal machines, as they offer greater stability and efficiency, he said.
Development of bipedal robots is still under way and is expected to reach commercialization next year at the earliest, he said.
Robot configurations would vary based on customer needs, with some requiring only upper-body solutions and others opting for full-body systems, Chen said.
Techman reported that net profit last year grew 45 percent to NT$136.37 million from NT$93.76 million in 2024, and earnings per share improved to NT$1.46 from NT$1.04.
The company expects gross margin to stay above 50 percent this year after reaching 51 percent last year, Wang said.
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