'B side' innovations－next investment hot spots

In the automation industry, China has its uniqueness given the country is a market with the highest intensity in application scenarios and demand, said Yang Xiaolong, partner at Sinovation Ventures.

"Amid such intense demand, B side companies making technological breakthroughs will begin to create a large number of cases and strive to change ideas into a product or solution," he said.

"Nevertheless, we found that currently, many entrepreneurs aged between 35 and 40 have a global vision and their own ideas on pursuing growth and success, which allows them to develop technology with resilience," he said.

One such entrepreneurial venture, Beijing Soft Robot Tech Co Ltd, or SRT, a soft robot solutions provider, received nearly 100 million yuan ($15.3 million) in a funding round led by Joy Capital and Sinovation Ventures in late December.

SRT is an innovative tech startup focused on soft robot technology, and is the first company in China to mass-produce flexible grippers.

According to Gao Shaolong, founder of SRT, its soft gripper series can imitate grasping motions of human hands and are able of adjusting according to precise dimensions and shapes of objects.

The soft grippers have been used already in several industries including food production, electronics manufacturing and healthcare.

"With the continuous increase in labor costs as well as in demand for industrial automation upgrades, demand for soft robots is expanding quickly in the country," Gao said, adding that he is confident on the market potential of soft robots in the coming years.

The soft robot market will reach a tipping point soon, he said.