Singapore Robotics Startup Hivebotics Raises $6 Million to Scale Cleaning Robots
Singapore-based robotics startup Hivebotics has raised US$6 million in Series A funding as it prepares to move its autonomous restroom-cleaning robot from pilot projects into large-scale production.
The round was led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, with participation from Fareast Land Development and bathroom-product manufacturer Rigel. Hivebotics plans to use the funding to expand its distribution network across four core markets and further develop the artificial intelligence behind its cleaning system. At the centre of the company's business is Abluo, a robot built specifically for commercial restroom cleaning. Unlike many commercial cleaning robots that mainly handle floors, Abluo uses an articulated arm to reach toilets, urinals, sinks and other fixtures.
A robot designed for one of the hardest cleaning jobs
Restroom cleaning is a very different challenge from simply running a machine across a large floor. Spaces are tight, surfaces vary, fixtures are positioned differently and the work has to be done repeatedly without compromising hygiene. Hivebotics says Abluo is designed around those problems. Its system combines high-pressure steam, targeted chemical jets, vacuum extraction and blow-drying, allowing the robot to clean without direct human contact. The articulated arm can also reach underneath toilet rims and around fixtures that conventional floor-cleaning machines cannot easily access.
The robot uses cameras to identify fixtures and AI to generate a cleaning route in real time. Once a job is finished, the system carries out before-and-after checks and scores the result, giving facility operators a way to track whether the cleaning was completed to the required standard. That focus on consistency is a major part of Hivebotics' pitch. The company says a typical cleaning cycle that would require around 30 minutes of manual work can be reduced to a five-minute human inspection after the robot completes the cleaning.
Abluo has already been tested across 20 sites
The technology is no longer limited to a laboratory or demonstration floor. Abluo has accumulated about 10,000 operating hours over the past 12 months, according to Hivebotics, across 20 sites in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Its deployments include hospitals, airport terminals and shopping malls, giving the startup experience in some of the busiest environments where cleaning has to be carried out frequently and consistently. The company now wants to take that experience into volume production. Alongside manufacturing and distribution, part of the new funding will go towards its proprietary physical AI layer, which plans, monitors and validates each cleaning job.
Why Hivebotics is starting with restrooms
Hivebotics co-founder and CEO Rishab Patwari says the company deliberately began with restrooms because they present some of the toughest conditions for cleaning automation: they are wet, cramped and filled with fixtures and moving parts. The strategy also puts the startup into a large facilities-management market where labour remains a persistent challenge. Hivebotics points to the wider soft facilities-management sector, covering areas such as cleaning, security and catering, which is projected to grow from US$770 billion in 2024 to US$1.2 trillion by 2033, according to Grand View Research.
For Vertex Ventures, the attraction is tied to the same problem. Cleaning is essential work, but staffing it reliably can be difficult. The firm cited annual janitorial turnover rates of 200% to 400% reported by Kimberly-Clark. Hivebotics is betting that this is where robotics and AI-powered cleaning can become more than a technology demonstration. If Abluo can move successfully from pilot deployments to larger fleets, the startup will be testing whether autonomous robots can take over one of the most repetitive jobs inside commercial facilities—starting with the restroom and potentially moving much further into facility management.
