Star Instrument

What Star Instrument does

Shenzhen Star Instrument Co., Ltd. (founded 1993, Shenzhen, China) is a privately held manufacturer of smart energy meters, water meters, prepayment systems, AMI software, and EV charging equipment. The company operates a 100,000 m² Star Industrial Park with a 50,000 m² modern production plant and an annual production capacity of more than 15 million smart meters, ranking it among the top three meter manufacturers globally with deployments in 80+ countries and more than 20 million meters installed cumulatively.

The technology stack centers on in-house communication modules — OFDM and G3-PLC/Prime-PLC, RF FSK/GFSK, LoRa/LoRaWAN, and Wi-SUN — paired with DLMS/COSEM and STS protocol compliance. Products span single-phase and three-phase smart meters, STS and IC card prepayment meters, water meters, high-accuracy CT/VT meters for substations, ANSI-compliant meters, and EV chargers (ECA01 AC and ECD01 DC). A proprietary HES/MDMS software platform provides automatic data collection, consumption analytics, GIS-based event mapping, and integration with vending systems for prepaid meters. The company holds 100+ patents and certifications including ISO 9001/14001/17025, KEMA-KEUR, MID, CE, STS, and MET.

The business model is enterprise field sales to utilities, power grids, and industrial customers, executed through language-specific regional sales managers (Vietnamese, French, Spanish, plus dedicated contacts for Africa, Middle East, Russia, Europe, and the Americas) and recurring presence at European Utility Week, WAPIC, and IIEE Philippines. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales of meters and AMI infrastructure, with a growing STS prepayment vending and software platform component. Domestic anchor customers include China State Grid and China Southern Power Grid, while international customers span Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, and West African utilities. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

Name

Star Instrument

Legal name

Shenzhen Star Instrument Co., Ltd.

Website

https://szstar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Shenzhen Star Instrument Co., Ltd. is a Chinese smart meter manufacturer serving electric, water, and gas utilities globally. It produces 15+ million meters annually across 80+ countries, offering AMI systems, prepayment solutions, and EV charging equipment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Energy Metering

NAICS

Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514), Electrical Equipment Manufacturing (3353)

SIC

Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

AMI Smart Meters (Electric) & Meter Hardware (EUADAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meter Installation, Exchange & Field Services (EUADAFAF), Metering Hardware & Field Services (AMI/AMR meters, endpoints, installation, maintenance) (EUANAIAA), Smart Energy Management (Meters, EV Chargers, Solar/Battery Monitors) Retail (CRACAGAI)

Keywords

• Smart energy meters
• AMI infrastructure
• Prepayment metering
• Water meters
• EV charging equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Longgang

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Smart Energy Meters: Manufacture and sale of smart meters including single-phase (STZ131, STK131, STC131), three-phase (STZ351, STK351, STC351), prepayment meters (STS and IC card), and conventional meters. Revenue from hardware product sales to utilities and industrial customers.
2. AMI Systems & Solutions: Complete AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) solutions including HES (Head-End System), MDMS (Meter Data Management System), data collectors, concentrators, and management software. Includes system integration and deployment services.
3. Communication Modules: Pluggable communication modules (RF, GPRS/3G/4G, PLC) sold separately or bundled with meters for AMI integration.
4. Test Equipment: Energy meter test equipment including reference meters (SB1300, ST1000), test analyzers (ST2302, ST2303), and test benches (ST9020, ST6300, ST9001D5) for meter manufacturers and test departments.
5. EV Charging Equipment: Electric vehicle charging piles including AC charging pile (ECA01) and DC off-board charger (ECD01), plus associated management system.
6. Prepayment Vending System: STS-compliant vending system for prepaid meters enabling token-based electricity purchases, managed through the company's software platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Shenzhen Star Instrument Co., Ltd. manufactures smart energy meters (single-phase, three-phase, prepayment STS and IC card variants), AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) systems including HES and MDMS software, smart water meters, EV charging equipment, energy meter test equipment, and metering peripherals. Products are sold to electric and water utilities, power grid operators, industrial and commercial customers, and power plant/substation operators across more than 80 countries.

Product overview

Star Instrument is a smart metering company offering an extensive portfolio of energy meters, water meters, and metering infrastructure solutions. The core product lines include: (1) Smart Meters under STZ, STK, and STC series featuring single-phase and poly-phase variants with prepayment (STS), IC card, and standard smart meter configurations; (2) Conventional Meters including postpaid and prepayment options; (3) Water Meters with IC card, RF, and wireless remote variants; (4) Charging Equipment including ECA01 AC and ECD01 DC chargers for electric vehicles; (5) Test Equipment including reference meters (SB1300, ST1000), test analyzers (ST2302, ST2303), and test systems (ST6300, ST9020, ST9001D5); (6) Metering Peripherals including concentrators (TJ10, TJ20), collectors (TC20, TC41), and interface units (CIU-I, CIU-II); (7) High-accuracy meters (STM500) for commercial/industrial applications; (8) Regional meters for China State Grid and Southern Power Grid; (9) ANSI-compliant meters for international markets. Solutions include AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) with HES/MDMS systems, Prepayment, Mother-child, Street Lighting, and Water-Heat-Electricity-Gas solutions. Products support communication modules including RF, GPRS/3G/4G, PLC, and comply with standards including DLMS/COSEM, STS, IEC, and ANSI.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smart Energy Meters (STZ/STK/STC series - single-phase and three-phase) Single-phase and three-phase smart meters with DLMS/COSEM compliance, dual measurement, anti-tamper protection, pluggable communication modules (RF, GPRS/3G/4G, PLC), and remote disconnect/reconnect capability. Available in standard postpaid (STZ), STS prepayment (STK), and IC card (STC) variants for residential, commercial, and industrial utility customers.
• AMI Solution (HES and MDMS) Advanced Metering Infrastructure solution comprising Head-End System (HES) and Meter Data Management System (MDMS) with modular design, automatic data collection, energy consumption monitoring, load curve analysis, event logging, meter archive management, GIS integration for event mapping, and vending system integration for prepaid meters. Enables remote meter reading, tamper event analytics, and integration with utility billing systems.
• Prepayment Solution
• Smart Water Meters
• EV Charging Equipment (ECA01 AC and ECD01 DC) Electric vehicle charging equipment including ECA01 AC charging pile (7 KW output) and ECD01 off-board DC charger (60 KW, 200V-750V output range). Includes charging management system for payment processing, user management, tariff configuration, and reporting. Complies with GBT 20234.3-2015 charging interface standard and CEPRI certification.
• Metering Peripherals (Concentrators, Collectors, Customer Interface Units)
• High-Accuracy Meters (STM500 CT/VT meter)
• Energy Meter Test Equipment (SB1300, ST1000 reference meters, ST2302/ST2303 analyzers, ST9020/ST6300/ST9001D5 test benches)
• China State Grid and Southern Power Grid Specification Meters
• ANSI-Standard Smart Meters
• Conventional Electronic Meters
• Mother-child (Cluster/Split) Metering Solution and Meter Box Series
• Water-Heat-Electricity-Gas Multi-Utility Metering Solution
• Smart Street Lighting System

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 million energy meters deployed globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• World-renowned meter manufacturer (partnership for market expansion)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 November 2016A world-renowned meter manufacturer established cooperation with Star Instrument during European Utility Week 2016 for market expansion purposes.
• G3-PLC AlliancecoreTechnology or IntegrationMember of the G3-PLC Alliance, an international organization promoting G3-PLC power line communication technology standard. Star Instrument has developed and deployed G3-PLC and Prime-PLC modules for smart meter communication.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Direct peers

• Wasion Group: Chinese smart meter and energy management manufacturer supplying State Grid and Southern Power Grid as well as international markets. Closest direct competitor to Star Instrument on domestic Chinese grid qualifications, AMI portfolio, and emerging-market exports.
• Sagemcom: France-headquartered smart meter and AMI vendor serving European utilities and selected emerging markets. Comparable on DLMS/COSEM-based smart electricity meters, head-end systems, and multi-utility prepayment solutions offered by Star Instrument.
• Landis+Gyr: Global leader in AMI smart meters and energy management with broad utility deployments in EMEA, Americas, and APAC. Directly comparable to Star Instrument on product scope (smart meters, AMI/head-end software) and target market (electric/water utilities undergoing AMI modernization).
• Itron: US-headquartered AMI and smart metering major serving electric, water, and gas utilities worldwide. Comparable to Star Instrument as both sell end-to-end smart metering + AMI/head-end platform solutions to utilities, with overlap on DLMS/COSEM, RF, PLC communication architectures.
• Holley Technology: Hangzhou-based smart meter and AMI solutions provider with strong State Grid and Southern Power Grid share. Directly comparable product lines (single/three-phase smart meters, prepayment, AMI) overlapping with Star Instrument's domestic and overseas offerings.
• Hexing Group: China-based smart meter and AMI manufacturer exporting across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Overlaps with Star Instrument on prepayment (STS), AMI/head-end systems, and emerging-market utility customer profiles.
• EDMI (Edwards Group / Osaki): Singapore-headquartered smart meter manufacturer focused on APAC, Middle East, and emerging markets with strong STS/DLMS compliance. Comparable to Star Instrument on payment-vending, AMI, and emerging-market utility customer base.

Regional players

• HPL Electric & Power: Indian electric meter and AMI manufacturer focused on domestic utility and emerging-market tenders. Comparable on single/three-phase smart meters and prepayment features though primarily serves the Indian subcontinent.
• Genus Power Infrastructures: India's largest smart meter manufacturer serving Indian utilities with AMI/smart metering deployments. Comparable on prepayment meter expertise and large emerging-market government utility tenders, though focused regionally on India.

Broad incumbents

• Honeywell Smart Energy: Global industrial conglomerate whose Smart Energy division offers AMI, meter data management, and grid analytics to large utilities. Overlaps with Star Instrument's AMI/HES platform offering but as part of a much broader portfolio targeting tier-1 OECD utilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StarInstrument
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCRouni__EC1xtEB9gBsTimg
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartamicompanylimited
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shenzhen-star-instrument-co-ltd-

Compliance16 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 Star Instrument