T
TELEXISTENCE
AI-powered robots for retail and logistics automation
About TELEXISTENCE
TELEXISTENCE Inc. is a Japanese robotics and artificial intelligence company founded in 2017 by Jin Tomioka, Charith Fernando, and Dr. Susumu Tachi. The company's name is derived from a concept first proposed in 1980 by Dr. Tachi, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, which describes the idea of a person existing in a location other than their own, able to act freely in that remote environment through a technological system. TELEXISTENCE was established to design, manufacture, and operate robots that combine AI with remote control to address labor shortages and automate repetitive tasks.
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The company's primary business model is robotics-as-a-service (RaaS), where it deploys its robots to clients, primarily in the retail and logistics sectors, for a monthly fee. A major milestone for the company was a partnership with FamilyMart, one of Japan's largest convenience store chains. In August 2022, TELEXISTENCE began the mass deployment of its TX SCARA robots to 300 FamilyMart stores to automate the task of restocking beverage refrigerators. The TX SCARA robot uses an AI system called "Gordon" to identify which drinks are low and restock them, capable of handling up to 1,000 bottles and cans per day. This system utilizes NVIDIA's Jetson edge AI and robotics platform. In situations where the AI fails, a human operator can take control remotely using a virtual reality interface.
TELEXISTENCE has developed several robot models. The Model-T, its initial flagship remote-controlled robot for retail, was introduced in July 2020 but has since been discontinued. Its successor, the TX SCARA, was specifically designed for beverage restocking. The company is also developing its next-generation model, "GHOST," and humanoid robots like "Astra" in partnership with Seven-Eleven Japan. These developments are aimed at creating versatile, general-purpose robots that can handle a wider variety of tasks.
The company has secured significant funding to support its growth and expansion. It has raised over $210 million across several funding rounds. A major Series B funding round in July 2023 brought in $170 million from investors including SoftBank Group, Foxconn, Globis Capital Partners, and Airbus Ventures. This funding is intended to accelerate its business expansion into North America and enhance mass production capabilities through a partnership with Foxconn. The company's international team includes professionals from over two dozen countries.
At a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2017
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Employees
- 115
- Open positions
- 13
- Dealroom signal
- 86.6/100
- Sector
- Robotics, Consumer Electronics, Core AI, Immersive Technologies, Spinout, Rumoured $1B, Computer Vision, AI Chips and Processors
- Technology
- Artificial Intelligence, Hardware, Deep Tech, Virtual Reality, IoT InternetOfThings
- Business model
- Manufacturing
- Client focus
- b2c
Knowledge graph
More headlines
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERIES BOther financing | Jul 2023 | $170M | $680M | Globis Capital Partners · Airbus Ventures · HH-CTBC Partnership · KDDI | ↗ |
| EARLY VCOther financing | Aug 2022 | $7.5M | $100M | Undisclosed | — |
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for TELEXISTENCE is 29K monthly website visits, up 38.1% over the last three months. TELEXISTENCE's team grew 9.5% over the past year.
Open positions
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Investments and acquisitions
Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.
Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Seed1 investor entered at this stage
Global Brain Corporation
Series A8 investors entered at this stage
Airbus Ventures
KDDI
Monoful Venture Partners
Deepcore
UTokyo Innovation Platform
Globis Capital Partners- HPHH-CTBC Partnership
SoftBank
Series B and later1 investor entered at this stage
MUFG Bank
Other known investors3 additional known investors
Google for Startups Accelerator
J-Startup
The University of Tokyo
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
team presence
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about TELEXISTENCE on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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