Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group

What Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group does

Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group is a privately held Chinese manufacturer founded in March 2016 in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, that designs and produces soft robotic grippers and end-of-arm tooling for industrial automation. The company's core technology uses advanced soft elastomer materials (P, H, and PAS variants) actuated pneumatically to deliver adaptive shape-conforming grip that handles irregular, delicate, and fragile objects without pre-adjustment. The product portfolio spans gripper modules, beak modules, modular finger suits (FMA-V1 through V5), SE-FP series flexible bone sensing probes, multiple controller families (LCU-H, PCU2, ACU2-B/H, iPCU2, LCU-S), Soft Wings accessories, integrated Small Delta Robot Workstations, Needle Grippers for textiles, and a tiered Development Kit series ranging from $420 to $3,800 for educational and industrial prototyping use cases.

The company's go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales ([email protected], +86-15051710190, 12-hour inquiry response, one-week delivery on stocked items) with channel partnerships: Soft Robotics Inc. for North America, Bravorobots and DCTBR for Brazil, plus technical integrations with Universal Robots and DOBOT via Modbus TCP/IP and RTU-485 protocols. Customer segments are organized across seven primary verticals — food & beverage, 3C electronics & semiconductors, automotive, medical & healthcare, plastic & injection molding, textile & garment, and logistics — with education/research and consumer products as secondary segments. The company claims 19,000+ customers across 30+ countries and direct or indirect commercial relationships with APPLE, BYD, Samsung, Foxconn, and Shenzhou International (the latter producing 1.7 million garments per day with Rochu grippers, achieving 31.6% gross margin and 21.4% net margin, featured on CCTV).

Rochu holds ISO 9001, CE, FDA, and ISO 13485 certifications and is shown to perform at up to 300 cycles per minute with ±0.05mm assembly precision. The company runs no disclosed AI/ML or vision capabilities on top of its hardware; its differentiation relies on materials science, modular product architecture, compliance credentials, and integration compatibility with established cobot and PLC ecosystems. With 11–50 employees and no disclosed funding rounds, the operation appears self-funded and profitable at current scale, targeting application niches where soft, conforming contact outperforms rigid and vacuum-based end-effectors.

Name

Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group

Legal name

Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group

Website

https://softroboticgripper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group, founded 2016 in Zhangjiagang, China, manufactures pneumatic soft elastomer grippers and end-of-arm tooling for industrial automation. It serves food, 3C electronics, automotive, medical, plastic, textile, and logistics customers across 30+ countries via direct sales and channel partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Soft Robotics End-of-Arm Tooling

NAICS

Rubber Product Manufacturing for Mechanical Use (326291), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Electronic Components & Accessories (3670)

akta.pro primary industry

Robot End-of-Arm Tooling (Grippers, Tool Changers, Welding/Cutting Heads) (IMAHAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL)

Keywords

• Soft robotic grippers
• Industrial automation components
• Flexible end effectors
• Pneumatic gripper modules
• Pick-and-place automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Zhangjiagang

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Soft Robotic Gripper Hardware Sales: Primary revenue from manufacturing and selling soft robotic grippers including finger modules, beak modules, gripper suits, control units, sensing probes, and soft wings. Products are sold as both standalone components and complete solutions.
2. Development Kits and Educational Products: Sale of development and education kits (DK 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 5.4, DK-1.37, DK-1.38) targeting automation beginners, researchers, and industrial testers for product validation and prototyping.
3. Integrated System Solutions: Sale of integrated solutions including Small Delta Robot Workstations combining robotics, vision systems, feeding systems and software for complete automation cells.
4. Customized Application-Specific Grippers: Specialized grippers for specific applications including food processing, fabric handling, electronic components, automotive parts, logistics automation, injection molded parts, medical supplies, and needle grippers for textiles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rochu designs, manufactures, and sells soft robotic grippers and end-of-arm tooling built on advanced flexible elastomer materials with pneumatic actuation. The modular product portfolio covers finger modules, beak modules, finger suits, sensing probes, controllers, soft wings, development kits, and needle grippers, enabling damage-free handling of irregular, delicate, and fragile objects across industrial automation, food, medical, automotive, electronics, textile, and logistics sectors.

Product overview

Rochu offers a comprehensive modular soft robotics gripper ecosystem consisting of core soft robotic grippers, specialized Gripper Modules (for food, fabric, electronics, automotive, logistics, injection molding, and medical applications), Beak Modules (including DAC/DAL series models for pick-and-place and high-speed operations), Finger Suit modular fingers (FMA-V1 through V5 variants), Sensing Probe (SE-FP Series), Controllers (LCU-H, PCU2, ACU2 series, iPCU series, LCU-S), Soft Wings accessories, Development Kits (Educational and Industrial variants including DK 1.0/1.1/2.0/3.0/5.4/1.31/1.37/1.38), and Needle Grippers. The product portfolio uses advanced soft-material technology enabling adaptive shape-conforming gripping for irregular, delicate, and fragile objects without damage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Soft Robotic Gripper Core product line of soft robotic grippers using advanced soft elastomer material technology with adaptive shape-conforming design for damage-free handling of irregular, delicate, and fragile items across industrial automation, food, medical, automotive, electronics, logistics, and textile sectors.
• Gripper Module Specialized soft gripper modules tailored for distinct applications including food processing, fabric handling, electronic components, automotive parts, logistics automation, injection molded parts, and medical supplies.
• Beak Module Beak-style gripper modules delivering precise, controlled grasping for delicate and irregular items, including DAC/DAL-20802[P], DAC/DAL-20006[P], DAC/DAL-1GN3024[H]/SN, DAC/ADL-20606[P]/M, DAC/DAL 3GN51[H]/SNA, DAC/DAL-20005V[P], DAC/DAL-2GN2232[H]/SN, and DAC/DAL-21608[P] models.
• Finger Suit Modular robotic fingers including Rochu Finger Module, Rochu End Effector Finger, and FMA-V1 through FMA-V5 variants designed for different precision and application requirements in industrial automation.
• Sensing Probe SE-FP Series Flexible bone probe - non-contact diffuse reflection optical sensor for part missing detection, compatible with soft fingers and soft beaks, available in multiple sizes with bendable probe angle and 2-50mm detection distance.
• Controllers Control units including LCU-H modular microcontroller, PCU2 high-precision control system, ACU2-B and ACU2-H demonstration control unit suits, iPCU 2-SMN/iPCU-HMN integrated passive control units, and LCU-S light duty controller.
• Soft Wings Soft automation gripper accessories using compliant soft gripper technology to gently adapt to product shape and reduce damage in production lines.
• Development Kit Educational and industrial development kits targeting automation beginners, researchers, and industrial testers for product validation and prototyping, including DK 1.0 ($789), DK 1.1 ($759), DK 5.4 ($420), DK-1.37 Soft Beak Kit, DK-1.38 Expansion Kit ($3,800, 0-8kg payload handling), and Small Delta Robot Workstation.
• Needle Gripper Customizable End-of-Arm Tooling (EoAT) needle gripper designed for gripping textiles, featuring compact size, simple control, strong gripping power with 300% increased steel needle strength, and trace-free scratching.
• Small Delta Robot Workstation All-in-one smart workstation integrating delta robots, industrial visual cameras, feeding systems, and computer software into a complete automation cell for educational, prototyping, and small-scale production use.

Quantifiable outcome

• Assembly precision of ±0.05mm
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Soft Robotics Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorth American distribution and channel partnership where Soft Robotics Inc. resells and distributes Rochu soft robotic gripper products in the North American market. Soft Robotics Inc. also featured Rochu products and described it as an 'on-demand' modular automation system.
• Universal RobotscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership for plug-and-play customizable gripper system specifically designed for Universal Robots collaborative robots. Demonstrated at IMTS 2018 trade show.
• DOBOTcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical integration partnership for connecting Rochu controllers (ACU2-H) to DOBOT robotic arms (including CR5) for seamless automation integration. Includes step-by-step configuration guides for Modbus TCP/IP and RTU-485 communication.
• Shenzhou InternationalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship customer partnership where Rochu soft grippers are used in Shenzhou International's garment manufacturing operations, featured in CCTV 'dress revolution' series. Shenzhou achieves daily production capacity of 600 tons of fabrics and 1.7 million pieces of clothes using Rochu automation, with gross profit rate of 31.6% and net profit rate of 21.4%.
• BravorobotsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational channel partner displaying Rochu products on their website for Latin American markets (Brazil).
• DCTBRminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational channel partner (Brazil) for Rochu soft robotic gripper distribution in the Brazilian market.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Soft Robotics Inc. Bedford, Massachusetts-based pioneer in soft robotic gripping for food, consumer goods, and e-commerce logistics. Direct peer in soft gripper technology and concurrently Rochu's North American channel partner, making it both competitor and distribution partner.
• OnRobot: Danish end-of-arm tooling specialist offering RG2/RG6, 2FG7, and Soft Gripper products targeted at collaborative robot applications across manufacturing and logistics. Closely comparable product portfolio and cobot-centric go-to-market.
• Schmalz: German vacuum and gripping technology manufacturer with a dedicated soft gripping and robotics handling product line. Comparable focus on damage-free handling of irregular and delicate workpieces in industrial automation.
• Piab: Swedish vacuum automation and soft gripping specialist offering piSOFTGRIP and related food-grade soft gripper products. Directly comparable in soft-material gripper technology for food, e-commerce, and logistics applications.
• Robotiq: Canadian end-of-arm tooling company focused on collaborative robots, offering adaptive grippers, force-torque sensors, and vision systems. Comparable product philosophy around modular, easy-to-integrate grippers for cobots.
• Destaco: US-based automation tooling provider with a dedicated soft gripper product line for food packaging, consumer goods, and e-commerce. Comparable technology approach (soft-material adaptive gripping) and end-market focus.
• Zimmer Group: German manufacturer of grippers, industrial shock absorbers, and end-of-arm tooling with soft and foam-based adaptive gripper offerings. Comparable as a specialized gripper manufacturer serving automotive and industrial automation customers.

Broad incumbents

• Festo: German industrial automation giant offering pneumatic and soft gripper solutions (including the DHAS adaptive gripper) as part of a broader factory automation portfolio. Competes in soft gripping while serving far more verticals with deeper R&D resources.
• Schunk: German clamping and gripping technology leader with a wide portfolio of pneumatic, electric, and soft grippers for industrial robots. Serves similar end-markets (automotive, electronics, logistics) but as part of a much larger gripping systems business.

Emerging players

• Ubiros: US-based developer of soft robotic grippers targeting food handling and packaging applications. Comparable as a focused soft robotics startup addressing similar fragile-object automation pain points with pneumatic soft grippers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/rochusoftrobotic
• Facebookfacebook.com/egroeco
• Instagraminstagram.com/egroeco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rochu-soft-robotic

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rochu Soft Robotic Gripper Group