Singapore's industrial robot startups eye global markets

SINGAPORE -- From autonomous floor cleaning to robotic arms in warehouses, Singapore-based robotics startups are expanding their production and research capacity to tap into Asian markets and beyond, targeting companies eager to address labor shortages.

Lionsbot, which makes cleaning robots, opened a new factory in the city-state's northern Kranji district in April with an investment of $12 million Singapore dollars ($8.8 million), expanding its production line to 4,000 units a year, around five times the capacity of its previous production site. The company touts the factory as the largest in Southeast Asia for cleaning robots, hoping to accelerate its global expansion.