The startup is fundraising for the rest of its Series C round at a time investors are courting warehousing and manufacturing robot makers in China, the company’s chief operating officer Yaxin Guan told TechCrunch during an interview. The startup declined to disclose its post-money valuation or how much it plans to rake in for the entire Series C. Having the chipmaking giant onboard will allow ForwardX to “work with a 5G technology leader to further advance the use of 5G in its smart warehousing and manufacturing projects,” the company said, though the startup is currently using chips from another major supplier. With the new financial injection, the Chinese startup plans to accelerate its R&D timeline, ramp up its deployment capabilities in “key markets” such as the U.S., and expand sales into new markets. To compete, the company claimed its solution requires less initial investment than its competitors due to “competitive hardware costs and a need for fewer robots per person in its solutions.” ForwardX Robotics, a Beijing-headquartered company that makes autonomous mobile robots (AMR), said Tuesday it has closed the initial tranche of its Series C funding round as it looks to expand globally.