Insider Brief
- Closer Robotics Co., Ltd. has raised ¥420 million in a Pre-Series A first close, combining equity financing led by Angel Bridge with participation from existing investor Deepcore and debt financing from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation to accelerate deployment of its AI-powered industrial robots.
- The Japan-based startup is targeting labor-constrained sectors such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and packaging, positioning its “Physical AI” software and compact collaborative robots as lower-cost, flexible alternatives to traditional automation systems that are complex to install and operate.
- Proceeds will be used to expand product development, manufacturing, sales, and after-sales support, alongside broader hiring, as Closer Robotics moves from pilot deployments toward scaled commercial adoption across major manufacturers.
PRESS RELEASE — Closer Robotics Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture; Representative Director: Shota Higuchi; hereinafter “Closer Robotics”) announces the completion of a total of ¥420 million in funding in its Pre-Series A Round 1st Close. This funding comprises a third-party allotment of new shares with Angel Bridge Inc. as the lead investor and existing investor Deepcore Inc. as an underwriter, combined with a loan from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Background of Fundraising｜Expanding Robot Deployment to Major Food Groups and Beyond
True to its name, Closer Robotics is an AI robotics startup dedicated to making robots more accessible and bridging the gap between R&D and on-site needs, driving the social implementation of practical robotics technology.
Manufacturing and logistics industries, particularly the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors where automation has lagged, face labor shortages and a rapidly growing demand for automation. However, traditional robotic systems have faced challenges such as high implementation costs, complex installation and setup (robot teaching), and a lack of flexibility limiting them to specific tasks.
This has kept automation barriers high, especially for production sites requiring manual multi-product manufacturing or with limited installation space.
This is the current reality faced not only by small and medium-sized enterprises but also by many production sites, including large corporations. Closer Robotics is expanding robot adoption, primarily with major food groups, cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and packaging material manufacturers.
Closer’s Solutions
Closer Robotics develops proprietary software featuring advanced arm control, 3D vision AI, and intuitive smartphone-like operation—recently termed “Physical AI.” By integrating this into industrial robots, we create robot packages that are both ‘advanced’ and “easy for anyone to use.”
- Compact Collaborative Palletizing Robot “Palletizy”
- Small Bag Transfer Robot “PickPacker”
Fund Usage and Future Development | Strengthening Development and Sales Infrastructure
The funds raised this time will be allocated to development, manufacturing, sales, and after-sales support. We will accelerate the strengthening of our business foundation and service expansion to deliver robots to more sites.
Related Release: Closer, an AI robot developer, establishes a new facility approximately three times larger than its previous base. Further accelerating robot development and manufacturing speed. Strengthening recruitment alongside business expansion.
Strengthening Recruitment Across All Areas | Seeking Partners to Take on Challenges Together
Following our funding round, we are strengthening recruitment across all areas to support business expansion. Our diverse team currently spans ages from teens to 60s, including members with RoboCup World Championship achievements, experience selected for the Masayoshi Son Scholarship Foundation and IPA’s Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology programs, as well as professionals from automotive and machine tool manufacturers. We welcome individuals eager to join us in challenging the social implementation of robots.
Open Positions (For details on some positions, please see our recruitment page)
- Development Department Manager Candidate
- Robot Software Engineer
- Production Engineering Technician
- Robot UI Engineer
- Corporate Sales Representative
Recruitment Page: https://career.close-r.com/
Comments from Shota Higuchi, Representative Director of Closer Inc.
Since our founding, we have consistently pursued our business driven by the desire to leverage robotics technology more extensively in society and to make it easy to entrust difficult tasks to robots.
Today, workplaces face labor shortages beyond imagination, making even maintaining production difficult. However, even tasks that appear similar have different requirements at each site, making the development of easy-to-use, versatile robots extremely challenging.
Despite this, Closer Robotics has listened to the voices from the field and shaped practical robots. With increasing adoption, we are now at the starting point for full-scale deployment. Moving forward, we will continue to promote flexible automation from the field’s perspective and seek partners to collaborate on societal implementation.
Image credit: Closer Robotics
