The archive · Hardware & Devices · Strategic decision · 2019–2026
Blue Dot Touch bets robot picks-and-shovels: 72.6% share, D-round led by GAC
Aerospace-grade force sensors made Blue Dot Touch China's default humanoid-robot supplier: 72.6% share, D-round backed by GAC, CATL, SAIC and Sequoia China.
Blue Dot Touch (Link-Touch / 蓝点触控)
What the business is
Blue Dot Touch is a Chinese robotics force-sensor maker founded in 2019 in Guangdong, producing six-axis force sensors and joint torque sensors for humanoid robots and industrial automation. Its sensors give robots a sense of touch for balance, precision assembly and flexible grasping, and it supplies most of China's leading humanoid-robot builders.
How it started
Founded in 2019, Blue Dot Touch was one of China's earliest force-sensor developers. Its team took high-precision force-control technology built for aerospace and applied it to robots, building a full product matrix of six-axis force sensors, joint torque sensors and tension-pressure sensors rather than a single part.
What happened
As humanoid robots moved from demonstrations to factory and home tasks, force feedback became a mandatory component, and Blue Dot Touch's sensors were deployed in batches at AgiBot, Galaxy Universal, Xiaomi Robotics, UBTech, Qiantuo and Starsea Diagram. From late 2025 the company raised multiple rounds above ¥100M each, adding industrial capital up and down the chain; in August 2026 it closed a D-round led by GAC Capital with Deye and Xichen, bringing shareholders from battery maker CATL to automakers GAC and SAIC to chipmaker SMIC. Its self-developed sensors reach 0.1%FS accuracy, response above 10kHz and 500% overload resistance, with volume cut 90% and weight 80%, and its Guangdong line has annual design capacity of one million joint sensors and 200,000 six-axis end sensors.
How it ended up
Still running and scaling as of September 2026: with a dominant domestic share and industrial shareholders, Blue Dot Touch is expanding capacity and planning global market rollout.
Background
Blue Dot Touch is a Chinese robotics force-sensor maker founded in 2019 in Guangdong, one of the country's earliest in the field. Its core team came from aerospace and academic institutions, adapting high-precision force-control technology to robots, and it built a full matrix of six-axis force sensors, joint torque sensors and related products.
The bet is that force sensors are the picks-and-shovels of robotics: as humanoid robots moved from demos to real work, tactile perception became mandatory for balance, precision assembly and flexible grasping. Blue Dot Touch's sensors reached 0.1%FS accuracy, response above 10kHz and 500% overload resistance, with volume cut 90% and weight 80%.
The market position followed: according to GGII's 2025 report, its six-axis sensors hold a 72.6% share of China's humanoid-robot market, with AgiBot, Galaxy Universal, Xiaomi Robotics, UBTech and others deploying them in batches. Its Guangdong factory is China's first fully automated force-sensor line, with annual capacity of one million joint sensors and 200,000 six-axis end sensors, and delivery times of 2-3 weeks against 6-8 for overseas brands.
In August 2026 Blue Dot Touch closed a D-round of several hundred million RMB led by GAC Capital, after multiple rounds above ¥100M since late 2025. Its shareholders now span the whole chain, from CATL and SAIC to AgiBot and Galaxy Universal - customers first, then owners - funding next-generation sensors, capacity expansion and a global rollout.
What has to be true
- Force feedback is a mandatory component as humanoid robots enter factories and homes, making the supplier position less cyclical than any single robot maker's bet.
- Aerospace-grade accuracy at domestic speed won the customers: 0.1%FS, 10kHz+ response and 2-3 week delivery versus 6-8 weeks from overseas brands.
- GGII's 2025 report put Blue Dot Touch at a 72.6% share of China's humanoid-robot six-axis force sensor market, a dominant position in a young category.
- The customer-to-shareholder model - AgiBot and Galbot were clients before investing - locks in demand and aligns product roadmaps with the robot builders.
- Industrial capital across batteries, autos and chips (CATL, GAC, SAIC, SMIC) gives the sensors guaranteed first deployment scenarios beyond humanoids.
What can be applied
Sell to the whole industry, then let customers become owners: Blue Dot Touch converted AgiBot and Galbot from clients into shareholders, locking demand behind its 72.6% share.
Aftermath
Blue Dot Touch remains the dominant Chinese force-sensor supplier for humanoids: GGII's 2025 report credits it with 72.6% of the country's six-axis market, and AgiBot, Galaxy Universal and other robot makers deploy its units. It closed a D-round of several hundred million RMB in August 2026 led by GAC Capital, with shareholders spanning Sequoia China, CATL, SAIC and SMIC. The open question is whether a component leader built on domestic demand holds share against overseas incumbents as the market globalizes.
Sources
- Robotic force sensor enterprise secures hundreds of millions yuan D-round led by GAC Capital, with over 70% market share (GGII data)
- Link-Touch raises Series D as force-sensor leader with 72.6% share
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