Telexistence raises $20M (22-oku JPY) in Series A2 round of funding. Pioneering an Augmented Workforce Platform with Aims to Transform Retail and Logistics Industries; Expanding Product Development Team

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Telexistence Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Jin Tomioka; hereafter “TX”), a leading innovator of remote-controlled robots with artificial intelligence, raised approximately $20M in a Series A2 funding round with multiple investors, led by a group company of Monoful Inc (hereafter “Monoful”).

In addition to existing investors – Monoful, Airbus Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, DEEPCORE and UTokyo IPC, several new investors participated in this round as underwriters (new investors are undisclosed). With the completion of the Series A funding round, TX has raised approximately $41M in total funding since its inception in 2017, and plans to use the funds to expand its product development team and accelerate product development and implementation for its expanding customer base in the retail store and logistics sectors.

Through this latest financing round, Monoful and TX have strengthened their partnership to further develop and implement the Augmented Workforce Platform (AWP) for logistics warehouse operations. AWP is a platform that enables workers in logistics warehouses to provide labor without being physically present at the warehouse. By providing AWP, TX is building a foundation that will allow workers to participate in the global labor market with greater convenience, safety, and cost-effectiveness. Through this effort, TX is preparing for the trial introduction of a remote-controlled robot to existing logistics warehouses under a partnership with one of the largest logistics providers in Japan. 

Currently, robots (especially industrial robots) are mainly used only in automaker factories and via general electric manufacturers. TX aims to expand the scope of robotics activities beyond the factory, transforming the fundamental nature of society. Ultimately, TX aims to create a society in which humans are connected, interacting, and evolving through network structures on multiple spatial and temporal scales.

To achieve this goal, TX will emphasize on: 

  • Innovation that evolves ideas into practical, credible reality rather than new inventions
  • Quick productization rather than a series of prototypes
  • Engineering concrete products for the world rather than research to find new discoveries
  • Action-oriented doers rather than deep thinkers
  • Practitioners who take on the challenge of solving real social problems rather than theorists who discover new laws in the field of research

TX will further strengthen the organization by seeking the most talented people from across the globe who share these aspirations.