Cheetah Mobile to Acquire Controlling Stake in UFACTORY to Accelerate Its Robotics Commercialization Strategy

Rhea-AI Summary

Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) has announced plans to acquire a 60.8% controlling stake in UFACTORY, a profitable lightweight robotic arms manufacturer, for RMB99.5 million. Combined with its existing 19.2% stake, Cheetah Mobile will hold approximately 75.8% beneficial ownership in UFACTORY following the transaction.

UFACTORY specializes in collaborative robotics, offering five-, six-, and seven-axis robotic arms with proven profitability and significant international market presence. The acquisition will be funded through Cheetah Mobile's cash reserves, which stood at over USD230 million as of March 31, 2025. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2025, subject to customary conditions.

Positive

• Strategic acquisition provides Cheetah Mobile with proven robotics technology and international market access
• UFACTORY is already profitable with substantial overseas revenue
• Strong cash position of USD230+ million enables acquisition without external funding
• Increased ownership from 19.2% to 75.8% gives Cheetah Mobile controlling interest

Negative

• Significant cash outlay of RMB99.5 million reduces available capital for other investments
• Integration risks between Chinese companies operating in international markets
• Regulatory and closing conditions could delay or affect the transaction

Insights

M&A and Technology Investment Specialist

Cheetah Mobile's acquisition of UFACTORY strengthens its robotics position, leveraging strong cash reserves while pursuing strategic AI diversification.

Cheetah Mobile's RMB99.5 million (~$15.4 million) acquisition of an additional 60.8% stake in UFACTORY represents a calculated strategic pivot toward robotics commercialization. This transaction will increase Cheetah's ownership from 19.2% to approximately 75.8%, giving it decisive control over UFACTORY's operations and intellectual property.

The acquisition leverages Cheetah's substantial cash position of over $230 million, utilizing only about 6.7% of available reserves - a capital-efficient approach that maintains financial flexibility for future investments. This purchase price suggests a relatively modest total valuation of approximately $25.3 million for UFACTORY, potentially representing good value if the robotics firm's growth trajectory continues.

What makes this acquisition particularly strategic is UFACTORY's profitability and international market penetration. Unlike many robotics startups burning through capital, UFACTORY generates net profits with substantial revenue from overseas markets. The collaborative robotic arms segment addresses a high-growth market with applications across manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics.

For Cheetah Mobile, this acquisition represents a deliberate diversification beyond its traditional mobile app business into higher-margin hardware and AI integration. The synergy potential is substantial - Cheetah's AI capabilities could enhance UFACTORY's robotics platform, while UFACTORY's hardware expertise complements Cheetah's existing service robot initiatives.

The transaction timing suggests confidence in near-term execution, with closing anticipated in Q3 2025 pending standard conditions. The methodical approach - moving from minority to controlling stake - indicates a phased strategy that likely reduced acquisition risk through prior operational familiarity.

BEIJING, July 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheetah Mobile Inc. (NYSE: CMCM) ("Cheetah Mobile" or the "Company"), a China-based IT company, today announced that one of its majority-owned subsidiaries has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an equity interest of 60.8% in Shenzhen UFACTORY Technology Co., Ltd. ("UFACTORY"), a leading provider of lightweight robotic arms, for a total consideration of approximately RMB99.5 million. Prior to the transaction, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheetah Mobile already held 19.2% of UFACTORY's total equity interest. Following the transaction, the two subsidiaries will collectively hold approximately 80.0% of UFACTORY's total equity interest, representing Cheetah Mobile's ultimate beneficial ownership in UFACTORY of approximately 75.8%.

The transaction has been approved by the Company's board of directors and audit committee and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.  

Mr. Sheng Fu, Cheetah Mobile's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We're excited to deepen our investment in UFACTORY, a fast-growing leader in collaborative robotics. With its robust technology stack and lean go-to-market approach, UFACTORY is an ideal partner to support our next stage of growth in AI and robotics. With this acquisition, we're strengthening our product portfolio to help our service robots operate across more physical environments and tasks. This marks a significant step forward in our mission to deliver smarter, more adaptable robotics solutions to global markets."

Mr. Thomas Ren, Cheetah Mobile's Director and Chief Financial Officer, commented: "We will fund the acquisition with our cash reserves. As of March 31, 2025, we held over USD230 million in net cash, giving us ample flexibility to pursue strategic investments that have the potential to deliver sustainable shareholder value."

About UFACTORY

UFACTORY is a leading provider of lightweight collaborative robotic arms - designed to safely work alongside humans in shared environments. Under the brand "UFACTORY xArm", the company is one of the few robotic arm providers generating net profits and substantial revenue from overseas markets, having achieved sustained growth over the past years.

Backed by proprietary full-stack robotics technologies, UFACTORY offers a diverse portfolio of five-, six-, and seven-axis robotic arms and robotic accessories. UFACTORY's developer-friendly design makes its robotic arms and accessories highly adaptable across different use cases, empowering customers with flexibility and ease of deployment.

UFACTORY has built a loyal, global customer base with increasing revenues from international markets.

About Cheetah Mobile Inc.

Cheetah Mobile is a China-based IT company with a commitment to AI innovation. It has attracted hundreds of millions of users through an array of internet products and services on PCs and mobile devices. At the same time, it actively engages in the independent research and development of AI technologies, including LLM technologies. Cheetah Mobile provides advertising services to advertisers worldwide, value-added services including the sale of premium membership to its users, multi-cloud management platform to companies globally, as well as service robots to international clients. Cheetah Mobile is also committed to leveraging its cutting-edge AI technologies, including LLM technologies, to empower its products and make the world smarter. It has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2014.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements, including management quotes and business outlook, constitute forward-looking statements under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including but are not limited to the following: Cheetah Mobile's growth strategies; Cheetah Mobile's ability to retain and increase its user base and expand its product and service offerings; Cheetah Mobile's ability to monetize its platform; Cheetah Mobile's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; competition with companies in a number of industries including internet companies that provide online marketing services and internet value-added services; expected changes in Cheetah Mobile's revenues and certain cost or expense items; and general economic and business condition globally and in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Cheetah Mobile's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cheetah Mobile does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

Investor Relations Contact

Helen Jing Zhu
Cheetah Mobile Inc.
Tel: +86 10 6292 7779
Email: ir@cmcm.com 

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SOURCE Cheetah Mobile

FAQ

What is the value of Cheetah Mobile's acquisition of UFACTORY?

Cheetah Mobile will acquire a 60.8% stake in UFACTORY for RMB99.5 million, bringing its total beneficial ownership to approximately 75.8%.

When will Cheetah Mobile's UFACTORY acquisition close?

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

What does UFACTORY manufacture?

UFACTORY is a leading manufacturer of lightweight collaborative robotic arms, offering five-, six-, and seven-axis robotic arms and accessories designed to work safely alongside humans.

How will Cheetah Mobile (CMCM) fund the UFACTORY acquisition?

The acquisition will be funded through Cheetah Mobile's existing cash reserves, which exceeded USD230 million as of March 31, 2025.

What percentage of UFACTORY will Cheetah Mobile own after the acquisition?

Following the acquisition, Cheetah Mobile will hold approximately 80.0% of UFACTORY's total equity through its subsidiaries, representing an ultimate beneficial ownership of 75.8%.