May 30, 2023 12:22:00

Japanese space startup GITAI raises 4 billion yen in funding

GITAI , a startup that develops space robots such as lunar robot probes, announced that it has raised a total of 4 billion yen from multiple funds such as Dai-ichi Life Insurance and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital.

Space Robotics Startup GITAI Raises US$30 Million in Funding | GITAI
https://gitai.tech/2023/05/24/space-robotics-startup-gitai-raises-us30-million-in-funding/

Japan's GITAI raises $29 million for space robotics business - SpaceNews
https://spacenews.com/japans-gitai-raises-29-million-for-space-robotics-business/

Gitai wants to build a robotic labor force for the moon and Mars | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/24/gitai-wants-to-build-the-robotic-labor-force-for-the-moon-and-mars/

GITAI is a startup that aims to provide safe and cheap labor in space and reduce operating costs.

With the development of technology, the problem of securing labor force in space has become highlighted as private companies in each country, such as SpaceX owned by Mr. Elon Mask, are all participating in space development. Sending humans into space is expensive, and working outside the ship is dangerous, so the importance of robots that perform work on behalf of humans is reaffirmed. GITAI is a company that develops robots that meet these needs.

Sho Nakanose, CEO of GITAI, said in

an interview with Bloomberg, 'The bottlenecks in the space industry are changing rapidly. Giant space companies such as SpaceX and BlueOrigin are solving space transportation problems, and now the bottlenecks are starting from transportation costs. It's changing to operating costs,' he said. ``While SpaceX and BlueOrigin reduce the cost of transportation to space to 1/100, we at GITAI are challenging to reduce labor costs to 1/100,'' he said. We are appealing that we can provide labor at a price.

You can see the robot probe 'R1' developed by GITAI in the video below. The spacecraft demonstrated its ability to navigate rugged terrain and overcome obstacles, assemble solar panels, and extract resources in simulated lunar environments and demonstrations in the Mojave Desert. We are in talks with various companies to conduct a demonstration on the lunar surface in 2026 with this spacecraft.

Lunar robot probe developed by Japanese startup 'GITAI' to develop space robots - YouTube


A video of the inchworm-shaped robot arm 'IN1' has also been released.

The GITAI IN1, an inchworm-type robotic arm-YouTube


The funds raised by GITAI will be mainly used to expand employment and expand manufacturing facilities in the United States, and to strengthen the technology readiness level (TRL) of the lunar robot probe and inchworm type robot arm developed by GITAI. TRL is an evaluation standard defined by NASA, which meets TRL7 for successful demonstration in an environment close to the space environment, TRL8 for successful operation on the ground or in space, and TRL9, the highest standard for successful operation through actual missions. That's what it means. According to GITAI, GITAI's lunar surface probe has passed the test equivalent to TRL4, and the inchworm type robot arm has reached TRL5.

In order to strengthen the development of these robots, GITAI plans to expand employment in the United States to 20 people by the end of 2023 and 40 to 50 people by the end of 2024. Hiring in Japan has been stopped, and more than half of the Japanese employees, including engineers, have moved to the United States.