ugo

Decisions within a year

• Debt financing on October 21, 2026 it raised a total of JPY 1 billion from Mizuho Bank, the Bank of Yokohama and Japan Finance Corporation. It said it will use the funds to develop AI models for autonomous decision-making, produce the semi-humanoid ugo Nova and develop physical AI services.
• Launch of ugo mini G2 it is taking pre-orders from October 20, 2026 for the next-generation model, which adds an optical zoom camera and ultrasonic sensors, with deliveries rolling out from November 24. It said it has also set up a mass-production and supply system using EMS providers in Japan.
• Field trial at a Seibu Railway substation: on October 1, 2026 it began a trial of gauge reading and anomaly detection at the Ikebukuro substation, running until March 31, 2027.

People they will look for

• Robot AI and autonomous navigation software engineer — the company said it will use the funds raised to develop AI models for autonomous decision-making
• Semiconductor fab equipment and inspection solutions engineer — as cleanroom adoptions such as Renesas continue, someone is needed to turn equipment inspection items into robot tasks
• Mass production and supply chain engineer — someone to handle mass production of the G2 at EMS providers in Japan and preparations for ugo Nova production

For hiring managers

People who understand both fab equipment inspection and robot autonomous navigation are sought by the equipment units of Korean semiconductor companies, Korean service robot companies and Japanese robot startups alike. It is better to hire the person who will own inspection automation before the robots are introduced.

For job seekers

Experience understanding inspection work at equipment sites such as semiconductor fabs or substations and solving it with robot and sensor data is what this company values most right now. The company is in Tokyo and no Korean base has been confirmed, so assume work in Japan and communication in Japanese.