Korean Startup RLWRLD Raises $14.8M to Build Robotics Foundation Model
STARTUPAI
South Korean startup RLWRLD has emerged from stealth mode with $14.8 million in seed funding to develop a foundational AI model specifically for robotics. The company aims to solve a critical challenge in industrial automation: enabling robots to perform precise tasks, handle delicate materials, and adapt to changing conditions.
Founded in 2024 by Jung-Hee Ryu, RLWRLD combines large language models with traditional robotics software to create robots capable of quick, agile movements and basic logical reasoning. "Using RLWRLD's foundation model, processes that require a lot of manual work can be completely automated by learning and copying human expertise, making work environments more efficient," Ryu told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview.
The seed round was led by Hashed, with participation from Mirae Asset Venture Investment and Global Brain. The startup has also attracted strategic investors from across Asia, including LG Electronics and SK Telecom from Korea; Ana Group, PKSHA, Mitsui Chemical, Shimadzu and KDDI from Japan; and Amber Manufacturing from India.
RLWRLD plans to use the funding to:
Run proof-of-concept projects with strategic investors
Secure computing infrastructure and robots for data collection
Hire top research talent
Develop advanced five-finger hand movements, a capability not yet demonstrated by competitors like Tesla, Figure AI, and 1X
The company is working with investors to automate human-centric workflows and plans a humanoid-based autonomous action demonstration later this year. RLWRLD is also developing a platform to support various robot types, including industrial, collaborative, autonomous mobile robots, and humanoids.
This marks Ryu's third entrepreneurial venture, following Olaworks (acquired by Intel in 2012) and Future Play, a deep tech startup accelerator founded in 2015. Ryu launched RLWRLD after noticing the gap in AI startups in Korea and Japan compared to the US, Europe, and China.
While companies like Skild AI, Physical Intelligence, Tesla, Google DeepMind, and Nvidia are working on similar robotics foundation models, Ryu believes RLWRLD has advantages through its team of AI and robotics experts from top Korean institutions and its high degree of freedom (DoF) reference robot. The company also benefits from proximity to manufacturing sites in Korea and Japan, which together represent 9.2% of global manufacturing production.
RLWRLD expects to generate revenue this year through proof-of-concept projects and demonstrations with strategic partners. While its long-term vision includes applications in factories, logistics, retail, and homes, the company is initially targeting industrial settings where automation demand and willingness to pay are highest.