OrionStar

OrionStar ranks among China’s leading AI-powered service robot companies, with cumulative global shipments exceeding 60,000 units across more than 60 countries. Founded in September 2016 as a subsidiary of Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM), the company develops intelligent robots for reception, delivery, and cleaning applications across healthcare, hospitality, retail, and enterprise sectors.

Company Overview

Established by Fu Sheng, former CEO of Cheetah Mobile, OrionStar emerged from Cheetah’s strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence. The company operates under the philosophy of creating “truly useful robots” (真有用机器人), emphasizing practical applications over technological showmanship.

OrionStar pioneered the formula “AI + Software + Hardware + Service = Robot” within China’s service robotics industry. This integrated approach enables the company to control the entire technology stack, from proprietary AI algorithms to robot operating systems and manufacturing capabilities.

In December 2023, Cheetah Mobile increased its stake in OrionStar to 72.91% through a $37.6 million transaction, subsequently consolidating the subsidiary’s financial results. A February 2024 capital injection of approximately ¥369 million from investors including Cheetah Mobile, Kingsoft Network, and Jiujiang Industrial Investment further strengthened the company’s position.

Core Products

GreetingBot Series (豹小秘)

The flagship GreetingBot line comprises multiple models designed for reception and guidance applications. These robots feature 14-inch high-definition touchscreens, six-microphone arrays achieving 97% voice recognition accuracy, and hybrid LiDAR-vision navigation systems enabling autonomous operation in complex environments.

In healthcare settings, GreetingBot robots serve as AI-powered guidance assistants, directing patients to appropriate departments, providing medical information queries, and facilitating remote consultation between physicians and patients.

LuckiBot Series (豹小递/招财豹)

The delivery robot line supports autonomous transport of medical supplies, laboratory samples, medications, and documents within healthcare facilities. Models feature payload capacities up to 40kg, 150+ liter storage compartments, and battery life exceeding 15 hours.

The LuckiBot Pro Autodoor variant introduces sealed delivery capabilities with password-protected compartments, addressing infection control requirements in hospital environments.

Cleanibot Series (清扫豹)

Commercial cleaning robots integrate sweeping, scrubbing, and vacuuming functions for autonomous floor maintenance. The platform operates continuously and features automatic docking for charging and self-cleaning, reducing manual cleaning workload in healthcare facilities.

Technology & Innovation

OrionStar maintains proprietary development across all core AI technologies:

Voice Interaction: The Orion Voice OS supports over 30 languages with far-field voice recognition. The company’s OS1000RK chip represents the industry’s first full-chain AI voice chip.

Visual Recognition: OrionStar won Microsoft’s Million Celebrity Recognition Competition (2017) and the MegaFace Challenge (2018), demonstrating competitive computer vision capabilities.

Navigation: Multi-sensor fusion combining LiDAR and RGBD cameras enables centimeter-level positioning accuracy. Robots can navigate obstacles, traverse 2cm elevation changes, and autonomously operate elevators for multi-floor service.

Large Language Models: In January 2024, OrionStar released Orion-14B, a 14-billion parameter enterprise-focused large language model. The subsequent Orion-MoE 8x7B model (November 2024) employs mixture-of-experts architecture for improved efficiency in multilingual applications.

Market Presence

OrionStar robots have been deployed in diverse healthcare environments including:

• Peking University Shougang Hospital
• Beijing Haidian Hospital
• Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital (COVID-19 emergency facility)
• Zhengzhou First People’s Hospital
• Bangkok Field Hospital (Thailand)
• Multiple mobile cabin hospitals across China

Beyond healthcare, the company serves over 20 industry verticals including government services, transportation hubs, shopping centers, restaurants, and hotels. The GreetingBot series has accumulated over 300 million customer interactions, with daily voice exchanges exceeding 17 million across the installed base.

International expansion covers Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. The company’s delivery robot “Zhaocaibao” received the 2023 KCAB Best Consumer Brand Award in Korea.

Key Milestones

• 2016: Company founded as AI subsidiary of Cheetah Mobile
• 2017: Won Microsoft Million Celebrity Recognition Competition
• 2018: Launched GreetingBot series; achieved mass production
• 2020: Deployed robots to frontline hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic; recognized by MIIT for technology contribution to epidemic prevention
• 2022: Five robot models served Beijing Winter Olympics
• 2023: Cheetah Mobile acquired controlling stake; cumulative shipments exceeded 60,000 units
• 2024: Released Orion-14B enterprise large language model; passed MIIT algorithm filing
• 2025: Integrated DeepSeek capabilities for enhanced voice interaction

Frequently Asked Questions

What robots does OrionStar offer for healthcare applications?

OrionStar provides three main product lines for healthcare: GreetingBot series for patient guidance and remote consultation, LuckiBot series for medical supply delivery, and Cleanibot for facility cleaning and disinfection.

Is OrionStar a publicly traded company?

OrionStar itself is not publicly traded, but its parent company Cheetah Mobile trades on the NYSE under ticker CMCM. Since December 2023, Cheetah Mobile has held approximately 74% controlling stake in OrionStar.

How many hospitals use OrionStar robots?

OrionStar has deployed robots across numerous healthcare facilities in China and internationally, including major hospitals like Peking University Shougang Hospital and emergency facilities like Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital. The company has not disclosed the total number of healthcare deployments.