Aware that many tasks were still manual as over 85% of warehouses have almost no automation at all, Masaya also began working on autonomous driving technology at Bosch in Germany and Japan.
Aso, co-founder of Lexxpluss, a Japanese startup that has been around for two years and specializes in designing and developing autonomous mobile robots to transport loads and optimize workflows within warehouses and logistic sites, to help find a solution to the problem.
Aso, co-founded the company with robotics and autonomous vehicle veterans from Amazon, Honda, Bosch, and more, and the Japanese firm is now rising by about USD 10.7 million (1.45 billion JPY) in Series A funding at a valuation of about USD 38.8 million in preparation for an expansion into the American market (5.26 billion yen).
SOSV’s HAX, Incubate Fund, SBI investment, and DBJ Capital also participated in this round of funding, which was led by a drone fund.
Lexxpluss initial focus was on the logistics and automotive manufacturing sectors because these industries are among the most prolific in their use of robots outside of traditional manufacturing settings.
He also stated that the majority of his company’s clients are based in Japan and work in the logistics and automotive industries.
In plans to leverage the relationships, it has established with its current clientele in order to break into the lucrative autonomous mobile robots markets in the United States, which was worth USD 762 million in 2021 and is projected to grow to USD 3.2 billion by 3.2 billion by 2028, accounting for about 40% of the global market.
Aso said, in addition to the U.S. expansion, the Series A money will increase its payload to 500kg, adding a 3D visualization of a digital twin of operations, and helping the company’s product development for remote control and monitoring.
