Hardware startups have, in recent years, repeatedly faltered at the production stage. Now that same pattern is unfolding in the robotic lawn mower segment.
Airseekers, a developer of smart lawn mowers, has disclosed it is grappling with three major issues that are straining its operations:
- First, the company misjudged its production capabilities and underestimated the challenges of mass manufacturing. Its initial batch, planned at several thousand units, proved too ambitious, leading to extensive rework and significant delays at the factory.
- Second, high staff turnover compounded the crisis. Departures disrupted internal coordination and extended product development timelines, further delaying production and shipment readiness.
- Third, the company’s cost structure has become unsustainable. Internal accounting indicates that the actual manufacturing cost per mower exceeds both the crowdfunding price and the company’s current cash reserves. Without fresh funding, fulfilling all crowdfunding commitments would rapidly deplete its resources.
Despite raising over USD 2.2 million through crowdfunding in a single month, Airseekers has delivered only around 100 units from its first production run. The company has yet to provide a clear delivery timeline for remaining backers.
The startup has completed two funding rounds to date, raising an eight-figure RMB sum. Investors include Gree Group, Cowin Capital, Oriental Fortune Capital, Blue Power Capital, Hypercycle Ventures, and Brizan Ventures. According to 36Kr, its latest valuation exceeded RMB 100 million (USD 14 million).
But success in the backyard mower market depends on more than a strong product. It requires excellence across R&D, supply chain management, cost control, and marketing. Weakness in any area can cascade into system-wide failure.
Fast iteration meets production limits
In hardware, polished prototypes often mask the complexity of mass production. The production process typically begins with small-batch pilot runs that progress through EVT (engineering verification test), DVT (design verification test), and PVT (production verification test). Each stage is intended to identify and resolve design flaws, refine manufacturing processes, and stabilize the supply chain before scaling.
Airseekers pursued an aggressive production strategy. According to sources cited by 36Kr, the company completed nearly 500 EVT units in under three weeks, well below the industry norm of four to six weeks. It then ramped PVT output to 2,500 units, a 500% increase over the pilot batch, far exceeding the common 200–300% scaling threshold.
Such rapid scaling can obscure structural problems. “It’s like getting a driver’s license and heading straight for the racetrack,” one industry observer told 36Kr. “Speed goes up, but quality control, supply chain management, and scheduling can easily unravel. At scale, rework becomes inevitable.”
Bill of materials (BOM) cost is critical for hardware companies. According to an investor familiar with the sector, mature products from firms like iRobot and Ecovacs Robotics typically keep BOM costs within 18–22% of retail price. Early-stage projects are expected to stay below 25%, with later-stage products pushing that figure under 20%.
Airseekers priced its Tron mower at USD 1,299 on Kickstarter. To meet industry benchmarks, its BOM cost should have remained under USD 325. However, insiders estimate the company’s actual BOM exceeded 30%, above investor expectations and industry norms. That eroded margins and left the company exposed to cost spikes in components like chips and motors. It also made the business harder to pass investor due diligence, heightening cash-flow pressure.
The company did attempt to reduce material and manufacturing costs, but the measures were insufficient to resolve its structural cost imbalance.
Adding to the pressure, Airseekers launched its crowdfunding campaign in April 2024 but didn’t announce its pre-Series A round until November, creating a seven-month financing gap during a critical procurement window. The USD 2.2 million raised through crowdfunding was mapped to 1,389 orders, but insiders say the funds only covered costs for a few hundred units. Fulfillment for the remainder depended on securing follow-on investment.
Founder Hu Yue previously told 36Kr that bringing a hardware startup with 60–70 staff to the EVT stage typically costs RMB 30–40 million (USD 4.2–5.6 million), including RMB 30 million (USD 4.2 million) in personnel expenses and RMB 5–6 million (USD 700,000–800,000) in tooling. Mass production would require roughly RMB 60 million (USD 8.4 million), with total capital needs exceeding RMB 100 million (USD 14 million) after accounting for working capital.
Faced with limited cash and production bottlenecks, Airseekers had to choose between using its remaining funds to fulfill backer orders or shifting focus to commercial sales to stay solvent. It opted for the latter. That decision has led to long delays and weakened trust among customers, investors, and the broader market.
A narrowing window in a maturing market
Globally, the robotic lawn mower sector is showing signs of regional divergence. Europe is more competitive than North America, largely due to its mature market structure and stringent regulations.
In 2022, the European Union passed a regulation phasing out petrol-powered small garden tools, which took effect in 2024. That accelerated the shift toward electric and smart alternatives.
Chinese robotic mower makers have been quick to respond. Ninebot shipped over 140,000 units in 2024, Mammotion reached 80,000 units across Europe and North America, Ecovacs Robotics’s Goat series and Dreame each surpassed 80,000 and 100,000 units respectively, and Mova reported 100,000 shipments as of June.
Airseekers, which focused on lawns under 1,000 square meters, positioned its Tron model as a purely vision-based mower using dense mapping and a multi-camera system. The design lowered hardware costs and improved path planning but came with trade-offs. Performance declined in poor lighting, and the system struggled with low-profile objects such as stones or dried grass.
One executive told 36Kr that vision-based systems demand extensive training data and long optimization cycles. This slowed Airseekers’s R&D and forced it to adopt an external algorithmic solution.
Even with dense mapping, the initial setup was time-consuming, and the company’s core technical metrics lagged behind open-source alternatives. Competing against firms like Ninebot, Dreame, and Mammotion proved difficult.
Airseekers’s challenges weren’t limited to product features. As a smaller manufacturer, it lacked scale to compete on cost and couldn’t leverage brand equity to attract premium customers. Its sales channels were also weak. Robotic mowers are high-ticket items with long lifespans. Buyers depend heavily on product reputation and peer reviews. Local distributors are often unwilling to take on unknown brands.
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Meanwhile, incumbents have secured market share through long-standing partnerships with European garden supply chains and home improvement retailers, giving them a significant distribution advantage.
The gap between product ambition and commercial execution is shrinking. The robotic mower sector has moved from tech validation to commercial rollout. Pure technical vision is no longer enough to survive.
Citing data from Interact Analysis, 36Kr reported that the global robotic lawn mower market is projected to exceed USD 6 billion by 2025, with annual growth above 25%.
That growth hides a tougher reality. Technical standards are rising. Supply chains are becoming more efficient. Channels are growing more competitive. Market leadership is consolidating fast.
Startups that cannot build durable advantages in niche markets are likely to exit the race. Only companies with systematic, end-to-end product capabilities will endure.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.