Rapyuta Robotics has been selected for the second round of the SoftBank Innovation Programme (SIP). According to a statement, the programme was launched by a subsidiary of the Japanese telecommunication and media group to facilitate the introduction of promising new technologies into the commercial marketplace. Rapyuta Robotics will receive funding and assistance in developing and testing its platform.
Rapyuta Robotics’ cloud-based platform promises to make it easier for businesses to deploy robot and drone solutions without needing in-house robotics expertise, according to the statement. The platform allows end-users to focus on their business procedure, instead of having to manage robot hardware and the like. Rapyuta Robotics and SoftBank will jointly develop a new drone service, which is expected to be ready for market testing later this year.
Rapyuta Robotics was founded as a spin-off of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in 2014 and now has offices in Switzerland, India and Japan. Six months ago the start-up received USD 10 million in Series A funding from SBI Investments Co.Ltd., one of the largest financial investors in Japan.
