Japan-based robotics company LifeRobotics has closed a $4.4m series A round backed by electronics company Omron, aircraft equipment manufacturer Koden Holdings and corporate-backed unit Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, the Bridge reported today.
Omron invested through its corporate venturing unit Omron Ventures. Mitsubishi UFJ Capital is an investment vehicle backed by 22 corporates including several subsidiaries of diversified conglomerate Mitsubishi Group and consumer electronics company Nikon.
LifeRobotics raised an initial $2.2m in a November 2015 tranche led by investment firm Global Brain that featured Nippon Technology Venture Partners and Lead Capital Management. The company was targeting a $3.5m final close for the round.
Founded in 2007, LifeRobotics is working on a cooperative working robot named Coro (pictured) that can be utilised in confined manufacturing spaces where traditional robots are difficult to use.
Coro is based on research by Woo-Keun Yoon at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
The money will go towards further development of the company’s technology and a recruitment drive across its sales, software and hardware engineering teams.