Japanese Startup Bets Iron Man-Inspired Homes Can Beat Humanoids

Tokyo-based startup MW Inc. is offering homes with built-in robotic housekeeping arms, a counter to a global embrace of humanoids.

MW aims to sell its first robot-equipped home in Tokyo by 2028 and build as many as 10,000 units a year by 2035, the equivalent of 5% of new homes now being built in Japan, according to Chief Executive Officer Shuzo Narita.

Japan helped pioneer bipedal robots decades ago, but MW is taking a different path from the humanoid boom now sweeping China and much of the rest of the world. Instead of trying to build a human-shaped machine capable of navigating obstacles in a lived-in space, the startup is embedding robotics into buildings. It’s betting that specialized machines attached to ceilings and walls can more effectively tackle household chores.

MW’s system features two robotic arms with claw-like hands that can fold laundry and carry groceries while moving along ceiling-mounted rails. The robot managed to distinguish between pantry items like soy sauce and items to put in the fridge during a live demonstration in Toyosu, a waterfront district in eastern Tokyo.

It also neatly folded a hand towel it took from the dryer. Its attempt to fold a t-shirt was less successful.

Semi-humanoid bots make more sense than bipedal ones in the average Japanese home, which is more compact than in the US, the 37-year-old Narita said in an interview. Safety was also a key consideration in rejecting the humanoid: Because MW bots need to move along tracks, they are easier to contain and control, he said.

MW (pronounced ‘Mu’) raised a cumulative ¥3 billion ($20 million) via a seed round earlier this year, with participation by investors including Spiral Innovation Partners and the venture capital arms of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Fukuoka Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The startup’s planning to raise around ¥10 billion in a Series A round in the next two years to cover the cost of AI and hardware development, Narita said.

The two-year-old venture, which has plans to expand abroad from 2029, has made no decision regarding a possible initial public offering, he added.

MW took its inspiration from the smart home of Tony Stark — the fictional billionaire inventor behind the Iron Man suit. The 50-person startup has staff to design the robots and the homes and also manages construction and software development in-house.

Narita described his company as a physical AI startup that aspires to create something akin to Stark’s AI butler J.A.R.V.I.S. Currently, the main source of revenue is real estate.

MW has built homes that can be retrofitted with the robots when they are ready — likely in 2028, according to Narita. A monthly service fee for the robots is expected to come to around ¥5,000 to ¥10,000, he said.

Earlier this year, the company sold a three-story house in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward and has built four other properties now selling in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, and in Fukuoka, southern Japan. Prices for the homes are expected to range between ¥200 million to ¥400 million.

Other projects in the pipeline are larger residences in areas such as the coastal city of Futtsu, southeast of Tokyo, and the mountain resort city of Karuizawa in central Japan.