China's Innovation in AI Robots Makes Billionaire out of 3D Camera Technology Entrepreneur
In the dynamic world of technology, one company has been making waves in China's burgeoning robotics sector. Orbbec, a Shenzhen-based firm, is powering the rise of humanoid robots with its innovative 3D vision cameras.
Founded by Howard Huang, a trained engineer, in 2013, Orbbec has come a long way. Huang, the chairman and CEO of the company, is the company's largest shareholder with a 27% direct stake. He earned his Ph.D. in engineering from the City University of Hong Kong, got his master's from the National University of Singapore, and bachelor's from Peking University in Beijing. Prior to founding Orbbec, Huang was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology research center.
Orbbec's first significant breakthrough came in 2017 with a deal with Ant Group, a Chinese fintech giant, to embed 3D vision cameras into Alipay's facial recognition payment system. This partnership set the stage for Orbbec's growth, and it expanded into supplying 3D vision cameras for robots in 2016 and doubled down on the space in 2022.
In 2022, Orbbec took the plunge and went public on Shanghai's Star market in a 1.2 billion yuan IPO. The move paid off, as the company posted a net profit of 30 million yuan in the first half of 2025, reversing a net loss a year earlier. Orbbec's revenue more than doubled to 436 million yuan in the same period, with 62% coming from modules for facial recognition systems in retail and healthcare.
Orbbec's technology has attracted the attention of notable investors. Ant Group, a Chinese fintech giant, holds a 9% stake in the company, while SAIF Partners (a spinoff from SoftBank) and MediaTek Ventures, the venture capital arm of Taiwanese chip design giant MediaTek, have also invested in Orbbec. Intel Capital and GGV Capital are among other investors in the company.
Orbbec's clients in the robotics space include service bot makers like Pudu Robotics, Gausium, Robocare, and Twinny from South Korea. In 2018, Orbbec partnered with Chinese smartphone maker Oppo to launch the world's first Android smartphone with 3D facial recognition technology.
In an interview with state-owned Guangdong Radio and Television in 2023, Howard Huang mentioned that Oppo was initially hesitant to work with Orbbec due to its small size at the time. However, Huang's vision and the company's innovative technology proved to be compelling, and Orbbec has since grown into a significant player in the industry.
In another interview, Huang stated that achieving global influence in the robotics industry is the highest peak Orbbec aims to conquer. With its impressive growth and continued innovation, Orbbec is well on its way to reaching that peak.
Orbbec's shares on the Shanghai stock exchange have skyrocketed more than 315% over the year, with a market cap of $5.2 billion. Forbes estimates Huang's net worth to be $1.4 billion based on his holdings. With its cutting-edge technology and ambitious goals, Orbbec is a company to watch in the world of robotics.
