AIBRIEF
The Zhejiang robotics firm expects to ship its first wheeled leg, explosion proof inspection robots to Saudi Arabia in September or October, with Aramco's procurement decision due by year end.
Zhejiang-based Micbot expects to ship its first wheeled-leg, explosion-proof inspection robots to Saudi Arabia in September or October, after Saudi Aramco executives and technicians visited the Chinese firm's R&D centre four times since February. The shipments are the opening move in a two-gate procurement test: the September batch, then a separate year-end decision by Aramco on mass procurement.
Micbot builds heavy-duty, wheeled-leg robots for oilfields, petrochemical bases and mines. The company markets a "four-in-one" protection system: antimagnetic, explosion-proof, waterproof and freeze-resistant, designed for hazardous industrial settings, though the claim is Micbot's own.
The four Aramco visits since February and the in-China co-testing of units are company-stated, not independently confirmed. "We focus on extreme, dangerous industrial settings rather than consumer or educational robotics," Micbot chief marketing officer Huang Ziyan told the South China Morning Post, framing the Gulf pitch as a beachhead rather than a finished contract. The first batch is expected, not shipped, and the procurement decision is a forward-looking company target.
Saudi oil sites are the named beachhead, but Micbot is one of several quadruped suppliers being tested by Aramco. A confirmed order would be a marquee export reference for the firm.
Separately, Micbot is preparing a Hong Kong IPO targeted for next year, raising capital against the year-end Aramco gate rather than the September shipment. Listing size, valuation and bookrunners have not been disclosed.