MUSE Launches First U.S. Deployment of Autonomous Store Robot Armo

-Foodcellar Market pilot marks a key milestone in MUSE’s U.S. expansion.-

NEW YORK & TOKYO — August 25, 2026 — MUSE Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; CEO: Yasutaka Kasagi), a robotics company developing autonomous solutions for retail stores, today announced the launch of its first U.S. deployment of Armo One ("Armo") at Foodcellar Market, a neighborhood grocery store operated by Simply Food L.I.C. LLC in Long Island City, Queens, New York.

Operations began in August 2026 at a Foodcellar Market location in Long Island City, with future expansion to be considered based on the results of the initial deployment.

Supporting In-Store Merchandise Transport in a Live Retail Environment

The U.S. retail industry continues to face challenges including labor shortages, rising labor costs, and the significant time and physical effort store associates spend transporting heavy merchandise throughout the store. As part of this pilot deployment, Armo will be used to automate in-store merchandise transport. By taking over the task of moving carts loaded with heavy products, Armo is expected to reduce the time store associates spend on transportation as well as their physical workload. This will allow store associates to dedicate more time to higher value activities such as merchandising, shelf stocking, and customer service, ultimately enhancing the overall shopping experience for customers.

First U.S. Store Deployment Accelerates MUSE's Retail Expansion

In 2025, MUSE won first place at the Shark Reef Startup Pitch competition during Groceryshop 2025, one of the world's leading retail technology conferences held in Las Vegas. The Foodcellar Market deployment represents an important milestone for the company as it transitions from product demonstrations and trade shows to live commercial operations in U.S. retail stores. MUSE is currently in discussions with several major U.S. retailers about future deployments. Building on the Foodcellar Market implementation, the company plans to accelerate the adoption of Armo across the U.S. retail market while continuing its global expansion.

Metin Mangut, Co-Founder, Foodcellar Market

“We are excited to be the first store in America to put Armo to work. Retail is evolving quickly, and in today's labor market every hour of our team's time is precious. We believe technology like Armo can take on the heavy, repetitive work of merchandise transport so our team can spend more time where it matters most: with our customers. What drew us to MUSE is that we share the same philosophy: technology should support people, not replace them. We look forward to evaluating Armo's performance in a live store environment and to exploring what comes next together with the MUSE team.”

Yasutaka Kasagi, CEO, MUSE Inc.

"We are thrilled to launch Armo's first deployment in a U.S. retail store through our partnership with Foodcellar Market. This marks an important milestone for MUSE as we bring our technology into everyday store operations.

Our initial focus is to reduce the physical demands of merchandise transport and help store associates allocate more time to customer engagement, merchandising, and other essential store operations.

Working closely with the Foodcellar Market team, we will continue refining Armo in real retail environments while accelerating its deployment across the U.S. retail industry."

About Foodcellar Market

Foodcellar Market operates neighborhood grocery stores in Long Island City, Queens, New York. The stores offer fresh produce, organic and natural foods, prepared meals, a salad bar, and a wide variety of grocery products serving the local community. Foodcellar Market is also committed to giving back, donating a portion of its profits to local causes and charities in the community.

Operating Company: Simply Food L.I.C. LLC d/b/a Foodcellar & Co. (Store Brand: Foodcellar Market)

Location: Long Island City, Queens, New York

Website: https://www.foodcellarmarket.com/

■About MUSE

MUSE Inc. was founded with the mission of "Inspiring people around the world through robotics." We focus on the people who use robots, aiming to inspire the innate human qualities of creativity, insight, kindness, and communication. We strive to create products that offer additional value, beyond merely reducing labor or cutting costs, which has traditionally been the primary purpose of robot implementation.

【Company Overview】

• Company Name: MUSE Inc. 

• Headquarters: MC Hatchobori Building, 2-11-7 Hatchobori,

  Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0032, Japan

• Founder/CEO: Yasutaka Kasagi

• Business: Development and sales of robots for retail stores

• Foundation: April 2022

• Website: https://www.muse-gr.com/en

• Product video: https://youtu.be/PffXiMDTzl0