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Mujin Develops Robot Software for Warehouses and Factories
Startup, Which Generates Most of Its Revenue From U.S. and Japan, Targets 50% Increase in Sales to America This Year
Key Takeaways:
- Mujin plans to go public by 2030 as it raises an extension to its $233 million Series D round.
- The Japanese robot software developer says factory automation demand doubled sales last fiscal year and could double revenue again this year.
- CEO Takino said the funding should carry Mujin to an IPO, with New York possible if valuation exceeds $3 billion.
Japanese robot software developer Mujin plans to go public by 2030, building up funds and momentum to capture fast-growing demand for factory-use AI.
Mujin is raising an extension round to the $233 million Series D it completed in December, valuing the company at more than $1 billion, co-founder and CEO Issei Takino said. That’ll provide sufficient capital until its initial public offering, according to the CEO, who expects the business to break even before then.
Backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, Mujin develops operating systems for robots used by the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. and Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co. The company sees a surge in demand for artificial intelligence and automation across factory floors and warehouses, as businesses move to optimize their operations. The startup is open to listing in New York, should its valuation exceed $3 billion, or at home in Tokyo.
Rising adoption of factory robots doubled Mujin’s sales last fiscal year, highlighting the speed of AI’s transition from experimentation to practical deployment in industrial settings. The company did not disclose exact figures but said it expects revenue to double again this year.
“We want Mujin to be the company powering the world’s robots — which can be any kind of sophisticated machines with multiple joints,” Takino said. “Our goal is to be the common operating system.”
Mujin, founded in 2011 by Takino and Bulgaria-born Rosen Diankov, specializes in automating the loading and unloading of goods and materials. Those tasks include filling and stacking boxes, arranging warehouse carts, cages and pallets and coordinating fleets of robots in one unified system. Its MujinOS software is offered as a fast-deployment option for customers looking to add AI without first developing in-house expertise with the technology.
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Demonstration of a robot arm at the Mujin headquarters. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg)
As co-founders, Takino and Diankov focused on eliminating the need to manually program every movement, which was a bottleneck in industrial automation. Diankov created OpenRAVE, a robotic motion-planning framework, which became the foundation of their autonomous control system. This allows robots to calculate collision-free motions in real time rather than relying on preprogrammed positions.
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Mujin also created software that continuously maintains a virtual model — a so-called digital twin — of the real machine in motion. This software retrieves live sensor data and calculates the optimal robot action at any time. That adaptability helps automated picking arms and other industrial robots handle a wide range of products.
“The customers we work with can’t afford failures,” Takino said. “One mistake would lead to a broken robot arm; another mistake could break the robot itself. When it happens a third time, we’d be ordered to leave their factories.”
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Mujin’s operating system is compatible with different types of machines. Denso Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Fanuc Corp. and Yaskawa Electric Corp. are among companies that use it. At Starbucks in China, for example, Mujin’s software powers robots that move boxes of coffee beans from pallets and place them on conveyor belts.
The startup, which generates most of its revenue from Japan and the U.S., is targeting a 50% increase in sales to America this year. Higher inflation, restrictive immigration policies under President Donald Trump and persistent geopolitical tensions between the US and China are all likely to drive increased demand for factory automation, according to Takino.
“There are plenty of tailwinds for us right now — this is our chance,” Takino said. “Looking at the market, aiming for a 50% increase each year wouldn’t be a problem.”
