World’s Smallest Electric Actuator Unveiled: Founded By Ex-Valeo Team, Backed By SAIC And Other Investors With Over $100 Million

HardKu reported that NOUSBOT, a supplier of precision transmission components, has recently completed an A-round financing of over 100 million RMB.

This round of financing is led by Shanghai Semiconductor Industry Investment, with participation from Lenovo Capital & Incubator Group and Amber Capital. Strategic investments were made by automotive industry-listed companies Shanghai Klaimech and Tianjin Pengling, while existing shareholder SAIC Capital continued its follow-on investment. The funds will be used for capacity expansion, technology R&D iteration, and market expansion.

NuoShi Robotics was founded in July 2023, focusing on the research, development, and mass production of planetary roller screws and miniature linear actuators.

Regarding the team background, the company’s technical advisor, Professor Xu Genlin, is a retired professor from Shanghai University with over 50 years of experience in the field of mechanical manufacturing. The company’s founder, Xu Yang, holds a master’s degree from Tongji University and previously served as Head of R&D at Valeo Group’s Asia-Pacific R&D Center. Co-founder Wang Xiaobin formerly served as Deputy General Manager of a Valeo Group subsidiary. The entire executive team primarily comes from Valeo.

Planetary roller screw is a core component of linear transmission, and its miniaturization is a technological high ground in the field of precision machinery manufacturing. Nosh Robot's core breakthrough lies in making the planetary roller screw the smallest in the world - with a diameter of only 1.5mm, the nut has a diameter of 5.5mm, yet it can stably output a load force of 10kg, with a life of over 3 million cycles.

In addition, the company further integrated brushless motors with non-contact sensors, creating the world's smallest integrated miniature linear actuator. This breakthrough enables the dexterous hand of humanoid robots to independently drive each finger with high responsiveness and high load capacity, allowing it to perform precise operations such as picking up pills, turning keys, and tying shoelaces.

“Our tagline is ‘the world’s smallest electric actuator’ and ‘the electric actuator with the highest force in the same volume,’” explained Xu Yang, founder of Norgren Robotics, further clarifying the company’s differentiation advantage to HardKr. “If everyone else achieves the same compact size, my actuator’s force output will be 4 to 5 times greater than competitors’. Increased force carries deeper implications—namely, extended service life and enhanced durability.”

PWB08Z-2.5-10 Flexible Hand Thumb Special Miniature Planetary Roller Actuator (Image Source / Company)

More notably, Nuoshi has increased production efficiency tenfold through its fully in-house developed manufacturing process, locking the unit price of miniature planetary roller screws at under RMB 100—two orders of magnitude lower than current market sample prices. Xu Yang stated that this achievement stems from the company’s solid industrial foundation and its mature manufacturing capabilities and processes.

According to Xu Yang, the company's 1.5mm linear joint solution has been adopted by leading domestic humanoid robot manufacturers as the core execution unit for their new generation models, and it is also jointly developing standardized modules with several top companies specializing in dexterous hand technology.

At the same time, Norsen has also entered the automotive linear control chassis market using the same technology platform. The company is collaborating with several core Tier1 suppliers of original equipment manufacturers to develop ball screw systems for rear-wheel steering, and is also involved in the zero-gravity seat actuator project for smart cabins.

Xu Yang revealed that with the empowerment of industrial capital orders from companies like SAIC, the company's automotive business and robotics business have now reached a roughly equal split, forming a dual-engine driving pattern of "humanoid robots + automobiles."

"Humanoid robots still need time before achieving true commercialization, and the automotive business will bring greater stability to the company. Whether we can secure partnerships with the most promising customers in this competitive race is a capability our team needs to anticipate in advance," said Xu Yang. He added that many applications in the automotive sector involve technological upgrades, with customers awaiting next-generation products to address issues like noise and failures in current solutions. However, the company's primary focus remains on robotics, as demand in this field is rapidly growing.

In terms of future R&D, the company plans to develop more product variants this year, invest in an automotive-grade testing laboratory, and continue to deepen its focus on precision and lifespan.

Specific technological iterations primarily focus on two directions: first, advancing toward higher precision, as humanoid robots demand greater precision than automobiles; second, further enhancing service life, since the risk of failure increases with volume reduction—a challenge that requires in-depth exploration.

Investor’s Perspective:

Shanghai Semiconductor Industry Investment Team believes:We are optimistic about the embodied robotics sector, believing that components serve as the foundational bedrock of the entire industry. Nuoshi specializes in planetary roller screws—the core components for embodied robots—offering exceptional suitability for high-load applications and featuring high technical barriers. A key industry pain point lies in the high cost and low processing efficiency of existing grinding equipment, coupled with heavy reliance on imported high-precision machining equipment. Leveraging over 30 years of industry-academia-research experience, Nuoshi has developed proprietary machining processes, significantly boosting production efficiency and beginning to deliver clear cost advantages. While numerous firms in the industry claim to produce planetary roller screws for embodied robots, many lack actual mass-production capability. Meanwhile, Nuoshi has secured partnerships with leading embodied robotics and dexterous hand companies, positioning it at the forefront of commercialization. The company also offers products for industrial equipment and automotive-grade applications—especially the latter, which holds significant volume growth potential. We believe Nuoshi possesses strong scarcity within the industry and represents a highly promising investment opportunity.

SAIC Finance Investment Team believes:This additional investment in Nosy is based on our in-depth analysis of the humanoid robotics industry and the significant synergistic potential we see in the reutilization of key components between this sector and the automotive supply chain. With three decades of solid technical expertise, Nosy's product line comprehensively covers everything from traditional screws and planetary roller screws to miniature electric cylinders, which have been widely applied in high-growth areas such as automotive tailgate struts, wire control braking, and dexterous robot hands. We believe this investment will strengthen our partnership, allowing us to seize the window of opportunity for industry synergy and technological integration, accelerating innovation and securing a long-term, mutually beneficial future.