Robotics funding: preparing a first introduction.

Tell us what the robot does, where customers use it and what the proposed financing would pay for. Name the hardware and software version behind any test result.

Robotics is part of our stated investment focus. For a first introduction, a short account of the product and its evidence from use is enough. Keep technical material that needs a confidentiality agreement for a later discussion.

Describe the task and the customer

Identify the operation: for example, picking parts from a bin or moving loads between workstations. State the environment, the objects handled and the person who operates or supervises the system. Explain who pays and whether the customer buys equipment, leases it or pays for a service.

Say whether the system is a prototype, a customer trial or a paid deployment. If you describe a customer, use public information or an anonymised account that you have permission to share.

Put test results in context

Give the test dates and conditions. Define a successful task and state the number of attempts, completions and human interventions. For a cycle-time figure, explain what starts and ends the measurement. Identify stoppages or tasks the system could not complete.

NIST's Robotic Systems for Smart Manufacturing programme describes measurement methods for assessing robot capabilities and integration into manufacturing operations.

Label estimates and future targets separately from measured results. State any conditions the team has not tested, such as a different part, lighting arrangement or production schedule.

Include the work around the robot

Summarise manufacturing, installation, calibration, operator training and support. Explain who performs that work and which parts a customer must buy or provide. Note spare-part needs, maintenance intervals you can support with evidence and dependencies on a single supplier.

For costs, give the currency, date and basis of the estimate. Distinguish a supplier quote from an actual purchase and a prototype build from a repeat unit. You can summarise this information without sending contracts or customer records.

Connect the funding to a milestone

State the amount and currency sought, the expected timing and what the money would fund. Describe the next result the team plans to demonstrate, how it would measure that result and what remains uncertain.

Illustrative outline: a team seeks funding to move a supervised packaging trial to a customer acceptance test. Its proposed work covers a gripper revision, installation and a trial under the customer's operating conditions. The team would report completed cycles, interventions and downtime. This is a fictional example, not a Zethong investment or requirement.

Prepare the first email

Include the company name, website, your role and a business reply address. Summarise the task, current stage, evidence and funding request on one page. The capital introduction guide gives the contact address and an email outline; a 繁體中文指南 is also available.

Keep identification documents, bank details, credentials and confidential technical files out of the first message. An introduction does not imply financing. We have not published a minimum investment amount or a standard response time.