Starting with three people and two desks...the domestic robots developed by his team are now "entering" into many Fortune 500 factories

In the core area of ​​"Big Zero Bay", at the intersection of Jianchuan Road and Cangyuan Road, in the exhibition hall on the ground floor of an Yimai building, various robots are demonstrating different operating scenarios. Some are counting books in front of the bookshelf, and some are on the production line. Some are processing parts on the factory floor, some are transporting goods, and some are following customers to the supermarket...

Zhang Jianzheng took customers to visit and explained in detail: "This intelligent inventory robot is currently used in some university libraries. In the past, it took two people 20 days to inventory 100,000 books. Now, the robot can complete the inventory in one night." It can complete this work. This robot can be generalized to the field of asset management, such as inventory of medical equipment and inventory of factory materials.”

As a doctor of engineering in robotics and applications, Zhang Jianzheng graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is the founder and CEO of Shanghai Sazhi Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. In 2017, Sazhi only had "three people and two desks". Now it has developed into a high-tech enterprise with nearly 200 people. Its independently developed intelligent mobile inclusive robot with "hands, eyes, feet and brain" integrated collaboration has been used in several countries. It has been applied in intelligent manufacturing in factories of ten Fortune 500 companies.

However, Zhang Jianzheng is not satisfied with this. He also hopes to "launch a national brand of intelligent robots, support China's intelligent manufacturing, and contribute to a better life in the future."

As a "veteran" in the robotics industry, Zhang Jianzheng, who was born in 1980, has nearly 20 years of experience in robot research and development and 13 years of experience in the robot industry. His entrepreneurial impulse was inspired by his experience in grassroots work.

More than 10 years ago, Zhang Jianzheng, who had just graduated, joined a well-known foreign company in industrial robots and made many achievements, overcoming several problems that plagued the industry at the time. However, while studying abroad and training at the company headquarters, he was very unwilling to accept the control of high-precision technologies abroad, especially the company's differential treatment of Chinese employees during teaching demonstrations, and ignited the fighting spirit to make a breakthrough.

"After studying robotics for so many years, facing the gap, I came up with the idea of ​​making my own robot, hoping to create a well-known national brand." Zhang Jianzheng said that during his Ph.D. and study abroad years, he often shared the same pursuit with My junior fellow student Dr. Dong Yi discussed: What should a robot look like? What are the shortcomings of current robots? In what aspects can the functions of the robot be improved...

In 2017, Zhang Jianzheng founded Shanghai Sazhi Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. in the entrepreneurial park "Bay Zero-Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cluster" in front of his alma mater, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Dr. Dong Yi and another junior also followed Zhang Jianzheng's footsteps and left their high-paying jobs to join the entrepreneurial team. At the beginning of starting the business, we agreed that each person would only receive a salary of 3,000 yuan per month, and they would have to bear the expenses of five insurances and one housing fund themselves. After that, the company also took on projects while doing research and development, and gradually increased everyone’s salary.

At the beginning of its establishment, Sazhi has anchored the development direction of "transfer operations" and "symbiosis and integration". It must be based on market demand and apply products to the industry effectively and efficiently. In Zhang Jianzheng's view, most of the previous robot applications were process-oriented and industry-oriented, and less of them were developed for common scenarios. Moreover, they were either fixed-operation robots or transfer robots, and the two were often out of touch. Dr. Zhang Jianzheng and his team innovatively developed an intelligent mobile integrated robot with "hand-eye-foot-brain" collaboration, which breaks through the limitations of traditional "fence-type" robots in terms of space, operating capacity, and operating range, and can move flexibly according to the actual scene needs of the factory. , and make quick and accurate decisions and responses.

In the past six years, Zhang Jianzheng has led the R&D team to adhere to independent research and development, independent design, and independent production, and has successively launched 5 robots including mobile operation composite robots, intelligent transportation robots, inventory robots, unmanned forklifts, and follow-up robots, effectively connecting discrete production links to help enterprises Reconstruct flexible production methods and quickly realize digital and intelligent transformation. At present, many of Sazhi's products have been selected into the "Shanghai Intelligent Robot Benchmark Enterprises and Application Scenarios Recommended Catalog" and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's list of outstanding application scenarios.

Now, Sazhi has entered the early stage of the outbreak. Last year, the company's revenue increased by 60%-70% year-on-year; in the first quarter of this year, the company's revenue increased by 80% year-on-year, and is expected to exceed 100 million yuan for the first time by the end of the year.

At the time of the reporter's interview, Zhang Jianzheng was preparing for a business trip to Malaysia, where six factories of a well-known company needed to purchase robots, and he had to do scene docking in advance.

At this time, in the parts production workshop of a leading new energy vehicle company in Mexico, 300 machine tools were originally operated by 30 people per shift, and a total of 90 operators were needed in three shifts. Now, 26 Sazhi robots " "Took over" this place, coming and operating in an orderly manner at each machine tool 24 hours a day.

In just a few years, Sazhi's robots have not only entered central enterprises, listed companies, Fortune 500 companies, etc., but have also quietly "went overseas" and been delivered to countries such as South Korea, Thailand, and Mexico. "Ten years ago, there was no domestically produced robot in the automobile manufacturing industry. Now, we have only entered the automobile parts manufacturing enterprise and need to continue to work hard." Therefore, Zhang Jianzheng works selflessly every day and has 2/3 rest days a year. During his business trip, even on the road, he was thinking about the next application scenario of Sazhi robot.

Generally speaking, high-tech enterprises' R&D investment accounts for more than 5% of their turnover, and Sazhi's R&D investment accounts for as high as 30%-40% every year. Up to now, the company has applied for nearly 100 patents. In the company's product catalog, while the original products are upgraded from generation to generation, products for new scenarios are also constantly increasing.

"Brother is very forward-looking and insists on long-termism, which has led us on a difficult but correct path." Dong Yi said frankly that at the beginning of his business, many people were concerned about the "symbiosis and integration of transfer operations" proposed by Sazhi. He didn’t agree with it, but Zhang Jianzheng led the team to stick to this direction. Finally, as the technology became more and more mature, the products and forms were gradually accepted by the market.

The road to entrepreneurship is never easy. In 2019, Sazhi encountered the most difficult moment: due to too much investment in R&D and the market not yet opening up, a closed loop of value feedback could not be formed for the time being, and there was an inevitable shortage of funds. At that time, Zhang Jianzheng had been working overtime for more than a month without going home, and he was even ready to mortgage the property. Fortunately, the projects they worked on were successfully funded, and they also received support from government innovation funds, and they finally overcame the difficulties.

In the first year of starting a business, someone proposed to invest 10 million yuan. Later, I was tempted by capital many times. But he thought again and again and still refused, "I have been asking myself: Is it worth the price? When the tide recedes, can it support this value? What I pursue is not a company with a market value of billions, but a company with a market value of billions. We hope to become a company like 'China's Siemens'."

With the ideal of industrially strengthening the country, he worked steadily step by step and never dared to rush for quick success. It was precisely in this way that he received an unexpected surprise. Last year, against the backdrop of overall difficulties in the investment industry, Sazhi won the favor of many investment institutions and received 100 million yuan in financing to expand the scale of R&D and production.

Recently, Sazhi's new 6,000-square-meter production base in Maqiao, Minhang is about to be put into use. At the same time, the company's management is discussing a new project, planning to build an 800-square-meter laboratory in the Yimai Building, because "previous experiments The room is too small and not enough."

Not long ago, at the invitation of the teacher of his alma mater, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhang Jianzheng gave a lecture to the students of Antai College. The theme was "How to transform from a scientific and technological worker to an entrepreneur."

He said that when he first started his business, he thought he was fully prepared, but he encountered a bottleneck after two or three years. Because he did not approach R&D and production with market thinking, the project progressed too slowly. After all, some technologies were not very good. Suitable for the current market demand, "So, I try not to draw drawings now, but try my best to do three things, find people, find money, and find the market."

Zhang Jianzheng hopes that by sharing his entrepreneurial experience and insights, he can help more entrepreneurs and technology companies to sprout up in the "Big Zero Bay" and inject new vitality into Shanghai's technology development and industrial upgrading.

In fact, from a technology worker to an entrepreneur, he is constantly surpassing himself and taking on more and more responsibilities.

As one of the pioneers in the robotics industry, Zhang Jianzheng is very aware of the importance of cultivating industrial talents. He has in-depth cooperation with governments, universities, scientific research institutes and other parties to build an innovative platform for the integration of industry, academia and research. He has successively served as a mentor for Shanghai Jiao Tong University's "Building Talents Program", a professor at the Second Polytechnic University, and a graduate enterprise mentor at Shanghai Institute of Electric Power, etc. , relying on practical industrial experience to provide talents with more guidance. He has also cooperated in depth with major vocational schools to deeply align subject construction with the development needs of the robotics industry. He also uses training models such as integration of industry and education, dual-teacher teaching, and co-construction of practical training bases, hoping to cultivate and deliver more and more talents to the intelligent manufacturing industry. The more technical application-oriented talents there are.

He also promoted the expansion of the ecological cooperation circle to jointly promote the development of the industry. With the support of Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Technology Association and other institutions, he actively hosts industry summits, technology forums, salon activities, etc., to discuss and share core technology breakthroughs, industrial innovation applications, etc. with companies in the industry. Facing intensifying competition, Chinese robot manufacturers are also seeking broader overseas competition. In the past few years, Zhang Jianzheng has participated in the formulation of more than 10 domestic and overseas standards, striving to enhance his voice in international competition.

"Looking to the future, intelligent robots that can move accurately and operate intelligently are the development direction of the new generation of intelligent mobile and inclusive robots." Zhang Jianzheng said that the Sazhi team will adhere to the purpose of "technology for good" and develop more Practical, high-quality, and warm products can truly solve market pain points, empower the robot industry in Shanghai and even China, and bring long-term "smart" manufacturing value to manufacturing companies in various industries.