Japan’s LifeRobotics closes series A round with $4.4 million in funding

Tokyo-based LifeRobotics, the Japanese startup behind a cooperative working robot called Coro, announced today that it has closed a series A round having fundraised about 5 million yen ($4.4 million). The company had secured 270 million yen ($2.2 million) before they announced the start of the series A fundraising last November. In addition to existing investors, Japan’s leading industrial electronics manufacturer Koden Holdings, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Omron Ventures participated in this round to invest 230 million yen ($2 million). Hence, the total amount fundraised in this round has surpassed the company’s initial target of 4 million yen ($3.5 million).

LifeRobotics was founded in December 2007 by Dr. Woo-Keun Yoon, who has been studying livelihood-support robot arms at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and other research institutions for over 15 years. His team has been developing cooperative working robots, which allow users to let the robot learn motions using a 3D mouse, or a game pad without complex programming skills. The company is developing a co-robot called Coro for small manufacturing spaces where conventional robots are difficult to position, as well as to improve people’s productivity and to automate manufacturing.

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LifeRobotics will use the funds to boost its technology development and hire sales staff. The company is also hiring software and hardware engineers as well as interns who want a career in robotics.

(By Masaru Ikeda. Edited by Kurt Hanson)