MUSE Raises USD 11 million to Scale Retail Robotics Adoption
- Building on commercial deployments in Japan and overseas, MUSE accelerates mass production of its store robot and expansion in the United States -
MUSE Inc., a Tokyo-based retail robotics company, today announced an amount of JPY 1.75 billion (approximately US$11 million) in financing through a combination of equity funding and debt financing from 15 corporate investors, venture capital firms and financial institutions.
As AI expands from the digital realm into the physical world, physical AI is attracting growing attention worldwide. Widespread adoption of robotics, however, requires more than advances in technology: robots must also operate reliably in real working environments and deliver a clear return on investment.
Since its founding, MUSE has developed and commercially deployed Armo, a versatile store robot that supports multiple store operations, including transporting goods, scanning shelves, in-store promotions and guiding shoppers, in the complex, real-world environment of retail stores. Alongside expanding deployments among major retailers in Japan, Armo has also begun operating in retail stores in the United States.
The funding will accelerate the establishment of full-scale mass production for Armo, advances in product capabilities and AI technology, and expansion into the U.S. market. Drawing on the technology and operational expertise developed in Japanese retail stores, MUSE aims to build a robotics platform that supports retail operations worldwide.
■ Funding Overview
Total funding raised: JPY 1.75 billion
New Lead Investor
ALPHA Co., Ltd. (ALPHA)
Existing Investors Making Follow-on Investments
Incubate Fund
XTech Ventures
Spiral Capital
Toshiba Tec Corporation
Canal Ventures
YMFG Capital Co., Ltd.
New Investors
Rakuten Capital
THE GOGIN CAPITAL Co., Ltd.
New Commerce Ventures
■ Our Business
Armo: One Store Robot Supporting a Wide Range of Retail Tasks
MUSE provides Armo, a multipurpose robot that works alongside employees in a variety of retail settings, including supermarkets, home improvement stores and drugstores.
A single Armo robot supports multiple tasks traditionally performed by people, including transporting goods within stores for shelf replenishment and online grocery orders, providing visibility into out-of-stock items and shelf conditions, supporting sales promotions, and guiding shoppers.
Unlike conventional robots designed for a single task, Armo can perform different duties according to the time of day and each store’s needs. This approach enables higher robot utilization and maximizes both the operational benefits and cost-effectiveness of deployment.
In addition to providing physical assistance with store tasks, Armo continuously captures data on shelves and sales floors. This also helps retailers improve store operations by identifying out-of-stock items and analyzing shelf conditions.
MUSE sees robots as more than machines for reducing staffing needs: they create an environment where people can focus on higher-value work. By freeing store employees from routine tasks, the Company aims to enable store operations in which people can concentrate on creative work that only humans can do, such as serving customers and shaping the shopping environment.
■ Use of Proceeds
1. Establishing Full-scale Mass Production and Strengthening Product Competitiveness
With deployments expanding in Japan and operations beginning in U.S. retail stores, MUSE will work with external manufacturing partners to establish a mass production system capable of meeting further growth in demand. The Company will also strengthen quality assurance and maintenance capabilities, building an operational foundation for a stable and efficient product supply.
2. Accelerating U.S. Expansion
Building on its first deployments in U.S. retail stores, MUSE will accelerate its business expansion in the United States, one of the world’s largest retail markets. Led by its local subsidiary, MUSE US Inc., the Company will strengthen sales, deployment support and maintenance capabilities while pursuing customers across a broad range of retail formats, including supermarkets and home improvement stores, to expand the number of stores using Armo.
3. Advancing AI and Software Technologies
With the evolution of Physical AI in view, MUSE will accelerate the advancement of its robots’ autonomous navigation, perception, and decision-making capabilities. The Company will also expand the functionality of Eureka Platform, its cloud platform for collecting and analyzing shelf and sales floor data. By integrating robotic task support with the use of store data, MUSE aims to further improve retailers’ productivity and store operations.
■ Investor Comments
Keisuke Tatsuoka, General Partner, ALPHA
“We see tremendous potential in MUSE’s approach to addressing the severe labor shortages facing retailers: a single robot that begins with transporting goods for shelf replenishment and extends to sales promotions and sales floor management. In making this investment, we placed a high value on the team’s unwavering focus on ease of use in stores, as well as its ability to execute, led by CEO Yasutaka Kasagi and CTO Kazuhiro Ishikawa, who bring experience in commercializing and developing robots. ALPHA will strongly support the Company’s growth as it works toward a future in which Armo becomes part of everyday store operations and enables employees to devote their energy to more valuable work.”
Keisuke Wada, General Partner, Incubate Fund
“Since our initial investment in 2022, MUSE, led by Kasagi, has continued to evolve through its close engagement with retail operations. Armo’s deployment is expanding in Japan, and its applications have grown beyond labor savings to include capturing sales floor data and supporting promotions. The vision we have believed in since the Company’s early days—improving productivity while creating new added value—is now becoming a reality in stores. Operations have also begun in U.S. retail stores, marking the start of MUSE’s global expansion. We will continue to offer our full support as this deeply knowledgeable and capable team works to transform a store robot developed in Japan into infrastructure that supports retail around the world.”
Takashi Fujimoto, Partner, and Ryui Kuwae, Associate, XTech Ventures
“Through three investments since MUSE’s founding, we have followed the Company’s journey from product development to store deployment.
We are delighted that this investment allows us to continue supporting MUSE through its growth phase. We look forward to seeing MUSE’s store robots, refined in Japan’s demanding retail environments, play an active role in large U.S. retail stores as the Company expands globally. We are confident that Kasagi and the MUSE team can bring about a future in which people and robots coexist. We will continue to support them wholeheartedly.”
Takashi Chiba, General Partner, Spiral Capital
“Following our lead investment in the previous round, we have made a further investment in MUSE. The Company’s progress has been so impressive that we would have welcomed a larger allocation in this round. By gaining a deep understanding of the operational challenges retailers face every day and delivering robotic services that are truly useful in stores, MUSE has secured deployments not only with some of Japan’s leading retailers, but also with retailers in the United States. We see the potential for MUSE to grow from a Japanese company into a global leader in physical AI for retail. Spiral Capital will continue to provide its full support.”
Atsushi Torii, Head of the CVC Office, Corporate Planning Department, Toshiba Tec Corporation
“We believe this funding represents a significant step forward in bringing retail robotics into everyday use. Toshiba Tec views MUSE as a strategic partner in shaping the future of retail, and we will further accelerate our collaboration through this follow-on investment. By combining the strengths of both companies, we will work together to make next-generation smart stores a reality.”
■ CEO Comment
Yasutaka Kasagi, Founder and CEO, MUSE Inc.
“I am delighted to have received the support of so many investors and financial institutions.
I am particularly encouraged that many of our existing investors, who have followed our journey closely since our early days, have recognized both our recent business growth and our potential for further expansion, and have chosen to invest again. When we founded MUSE, we saw retail stores as one of the most challenging environments for bringing robots into real-world use: narrow aisles, the need to operate safely alongside large numbers of shoppers, and complex, diverse store operations. Since then, we have remained focused on retail environments, continually refining our technology and products to overcome these challenges.
Through our work with retailers in Japan, Armo has moved beyond proof-of-concept trials to become part of daily store operations, and we have also begun our expansion into the U.S. market. This funding marks an important turning point as MUSE enters a phase of full-scale growth. Building on the technology and track record we have developed in Japanese retail stores, we will accelerate the establishment of full-scale mass production and our expansion into the United States.”
■ Careers
MUSE is accelerating its business growth by expanding deployments in Japan and pursuing full-scale entry into the U.S. market. To drive this growth further, the Company is stepping up recruitment across a wide range of roles in both Japan and the United States. We are looking for colleagues to join us in transforming the future of retail through robotics.
■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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_2AcKp6rKk
