Best Consumer Robotics Companies in Japan
The 34 best Consumer Robotics companies in Japan in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Softbank Robotics.
Ranked: Best Consumer Robotics companies in Japan
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Softbank Robotics Provider of robotic solutions and integration services for various industries | $117M | 105 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2012 | HubSpot CMS HubApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+27 | 5 patents Autonomous cleaning robot control systems and customer‑service robot interaction technologies | — |
| 2 | GROOVE X Develops social robot for consumers | $51M | 106 mo ago | Series A | Kaname Hayashi Founder & CEO | 2015 | Hatena BlogSentryFacebook Login+14 | 187 patents Humanoid service robots with flexible skins, speech AI, and autonomous visual interaction | — |
| 3 | MELTIN MMI Developer of bio-signal processing and biologically inspired robotics | $20M | 96 mo ago | Series B | Tatsuya Seki Co-Founder | 2013 | WordPressMySQLPHP+13 | 42 patents Patents concentrated in transport & manufacturing processes | — |
| 4 | BionicM Developer of prosthetic to assist knee and ankle movements | $11M | 24 mo ago | Series A | Sunny Sun Founder & CEO | 2016 | Google MapsElement UIVue.js+8 | 16 patents Powered prosthetic limb devices and control systems for artificial limbs | — |
| 5 | MJI Robotics Develops a table top social robot | $5M | 116 mo ago | Seed | — | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 6 | RT Corporation Develops robotic kits for learning and custom robots | $5M | 9 mo ago | Series B | Yuki Nakagawa Founder & CEO | 2005 | WordPressMySQLPHP+14 | — | — |
| 7 | Cerevo Develops a robotic projector for homes | $4M | 188 mo ago | Series B | — | 2007 | WordPressMySQLPHP+23 | — | — |
| 8 | Ludens AI Developer of artificial intelligence software for interactive robotic companion systems | $4M | 6 mo ago | Seed | Lijun Xue Founder & CEO | 2025 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Orylab Robot for personal telepresence applications | $2M | 122 mo ago | Seed | Yoshifumi Shiiba Co-Founder | 2012 | WordPressMySQLPHP+21 | 15 patents Eye-tracking input devices and mobile business-card management hardware solutions | — |
| 10 | Yukai Engineering Develops personal robots for consumers | $956K | 79 mo ago | Series A | — | 2012 | Cart FunctionalityShopifyYouTube+19 | — | — |
Top 11 Consumer Robotics companies in Japan
#1
Seed · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2025$3.8Mraised▾
Developer of artificial intelligence software for interactive robotic companion systems. This technology stack integrates operating systems, motion control, and sensory processing to facilitate interaction between machines and humans. The software architecture supports movement, behavioral training, and skin-like tactile feedback mechanisms for robotic hardware. These systems are designed to enable autonomous responses and engagement within domestic environments.
- Apr 2026Angel$3.8M
#2
Series B · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2005$4.7Mraised▾
RT Corporation is a robotics research company which has developed products such as robot humanoid, robot arm and a basic robot kit for learning and education. The company also indulges in developing custom service robots, PCB developing machines and AI for robots.
- Jan 2026Series B—
- Oct 2025Series B—
- Aug 2019Series B$4.7M
#3
Series A · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2016 · 14 employees$11Mraised▾
Developer of prosthetic to assist knee and ankle movements. It offers a prosthetic leg that restores some of the mobility lost when surgeons remove the leg and the knee. It detects the movement of the wearer with a sensor that measures the amount of force applied to the foot. It claims to add a highly technical joint to act as the new knee and reduces the motion required to do things taken for granted, like standing up or climbing stairs.
- Oct 2024Series A$3M
- Jan 2023Series A$2.8M
- Sep 2020Series A$5.2M
- Mar 2019Seed—
#4
Acquired · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2012 · 99 employees$117.2Mraised▾
Provider of robotic solutions and integration services for various industries. The company leverages its knowledge and data to create value through robotics. It offers solutions for security operations and cleaning industries. The company also provides a platform for commercial cleaning industry integration.
- Jan 2018Grant (prize money)$1.3M
- Jan 2017Grant (prize money)$375K
- Jun 2015PE$117.2M
#5
Series A · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2015 · 105 employees$51.5Mraised▾
Groove-X has developed a social robot called LOVOT for consumers. Features include answering machine, baby monitoring, house patrolling and more. The robot has approximately 50 sensors on its body including a 360-degree camera, thermal vision, microphone, depth camera, distance & obstacle sensors and, retractable wheels for movement. The company claims that the stimuli captured by these sensors are processed using ML and DL to generate motion in real time.
- Dec 2017Series A$38.6M
- 2016Seed$12.9M
#6
Series B · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2013 · 25 employees$20.1Mraised▾
Developer of bio-signal processing and biologically inspired robotics. It offers MELTz, a hand motion rehabilitation system that uses muscle electrical data to provide training tailored to the patient's movement intentions, supporting neurorehabilitation through the integration of advanced technologies. It also, offer MELTANT, a dexterous 5-finger robot hand capable of performing non-standardized tasks.
- Oct 2018Series B$18M
- Dec 2017Series A$2.1M
- Jan 2016Seed—
#7
Seed · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2015 · 4 employees$5Mraised▾
MJI Robotics has developed a table-top companion robot called Tapia. Tapia robot can actively communicate with a person at home and monitor the premises. It is capable of user recognition, life support in terms of placing phone calls, schedule management etc. It can also inform the outside members of decreased activity in home. The robot features a screen on top which shows an animated face, or can be used for portraying content.
- Feb 2017Seed$5M
#8
Series B · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2007 · 33 employees$4.3Mraised▾
Cerevo is a high tech company developing robotic product, IoT devices and intelligent broadcast systems. Their product Tipron is a home robot, which can be used for projection of movies on a 80 inch screen on the wall. The Tipron can change its angle and position automatically while projecting images. Other products from the firm are Orbitrec (an intelligent cycle), Listnr (an IoT device), Liveshell series of streaming and broadcast equipment.
- Feb 2011Series B$3M
- Jan 2009Series A$1.3M
#9
Seed · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2012 · 22 employees$2.1Mraised▾
Orylab has developed a robot called OriHime, which can act as telepresence device to the user. The robot can move its arms and head to keep track of the user. It can be used for applications such as visiting remote places through the robot, giving a chance for people with neural disorders to experience remote places, for personal communication, remote work and education.
- Aug 2016Seed$2.1M
#10
Series A · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2012 · 9 employees$956Kraised▾
Yukai Engineering is a startup that creates personal robots. Has developed 10 products as of Sep 12, 2016. A mobile application is integrated with robots so that customers can communicate with the robot effectively. BOOCO - a communication robot connects to sensors in customers' home and sends notifications to connected smartphones about any arrival/departure from home. It can also receive and read out messages sent by the app serving as a communication link between app user and people at home. Another product, iDoll is a palm sized entertainment robot doll. Apart from robots, they also manufacture products such as home control devices and computing toolkits .
- Mar 2020Series A$4.7M
- Jun 2016Seed$956K
#11
Seed · Shinjuku City, Tokyo · founded 2018 · 6 employees—raised▾
Xela Robotics provides tactile sensors for robots. Its offering includes a range of tactile sensors for robot hand, human hand, gripper, and other custom applications. Its tactile sensors for robot hand includes 72 tri-axial tactile sensors and 16 tri-axial tactile sensors for the robotic gripper. Use cases are in object handling and pressure detection.
- Apr 2026Seed—
- Nov 2024Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
How research on Robotics is moving in Japan
A read on the academic research around Robotics — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 1,436 Japan-affiliated papers.
- The University of Tokyo180
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology82
- Kyoto University65
- Tohoku University60
- Waseda University55
- Motion planning7→108
- Mobile robot4→59
- Path (computing)1→55
- Task (project management)5→48
- Motion (physics)6→49
- Motion planning10→102
- Mobile robot4→90
- Motion (physics)5→77
- Path (computing)4→65
- Task (project management)4→51
- Human–computer interaction1→10
- Human–robot interaction1→10
- Humanoid robot1→9
- Field (mathematics)2→6
- Perception1→4
Where robotics is researched across Japan
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing robotics patents in Japan
Japan robotics patent filing is accelerating — 60,540 filings from 5,975 assignees (2016–2025), led by Fanuc, Mitsubishi Electric, Omron Tateisi Electronics; annual filings 3891→5932.
- Fanuc13926
- Mitsubishi Electric5416
- Omron Tateisi Electronics4651
- Kawasaki Heavy IND3739
- Seiko Epson2364
- Honda2249
- Tokyo Electron1752
- Yaskawa Denki Seisakusho KK1700
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.