Refined Robotics

• Operating use

  2026-09-28 - Evri is trialling Refined Robotics’ two-legged parcel-delivery robot in Barnsley; this remains a trial rather than a scaled commercial deployment. - Evri Barnsley trial - Barnsley, United Kingdom

  Source

• 2025-09-01 - Pre-seed - Refined Robotics announces investment from Antler Japan

  Refined Robotics announced that it had joined Antler Japan's investment portfolio to develop a bipedal robot for last-mile delivery. - source: refinedrobotics.com

• Antler Japan - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2025-09-01

• Nick Hafner - CEO and Co-founder
• Yui Bishago - CTO and Co-founder

Events

• 2026-09-28 - Deployment - Refined Robotics begins two-legged parcel-delivery trial with Evri in Barnsley

  The trial platform carries parcels up to 15 kg and travels at up to 6 km/h. It can operate autonomously or under remote control and is being evaluated as support for couriers. The trial will assess how the system fits into existing parcel delivery networks.

  Source
• 2026-06-30 - Award - Refined Robotics is named a Toyota Woven City pitch finalist

  Its pitch covered delivery across rough terrain, snow and transitions between outdoor and indoor spaces. The presentation described layered on-device safety architecture for autonomous systems sharing public space.

  Source
• 2026-06-23 - Partnership - Refined Robotics joins Qualcomm AI Program for Innovators APAC

  The cohort comprised 15 startups in Japan, Singapore and South Korea selected from more than 100 applications. The programme offered Snapdragon, Dragonwing, Arduino UNO Q and Qualcomm AI Hub access plus six months of engineering mentorship. A fourth-quarter Demo Day, patent-filing incentives and a completion grant were included in the programme.

  Source
• 2026-04-05 - Demonstration - Refined Robotics demonstrates IRIS with a 10 kg load in Akihabara

  The route linked Sabonius Square and Akiba Square amid dense moving crowds. IRIS paused and resumed as the route slowed, with repeated runs and no major interruptions.

  Source
• 2026-03-25 - Demonstration - Refined Robotics demonstrates IRIS in Mitsui Fudosan proof of concept

  The two-day public demonstration involved more than 200 participants and a company-stated 95% uptime. Its participant survey found that 96.2% wanted permanent delivery service; 79 children contributed drawings. The partners planned a second phase focused on autonomous navigation.

  Source
• 2026-01-03 - Demonstration - Refined Robotics demonstrates robot delivery on snow in Yamanakako

  The robot carried BBQ supplies from a parked car over icy roads and snow-covered paths. Its control system reduced speed on difficult terrain; planned work included improved balance, sensor fusion and power management.

  Source
• 2025-12-03 - Demonstration - Refined Robotics demonstrates lunch delivery at Y Combinator Demo Day

  The crowded-venue trial completed dozens of deliveries without manual intervention. Lightberry's conversational AI handled greetings, delivery confirmation and questions while the robot performed physical delivery.

  Source
• 2025-09-25 - Demonstration - Refined Robotics reveals its first working delivery-robot prototype

  The prototype carried up to 5 kg and was designed for two Yamato Size 60 packages. In-house walking and system-integration algorithms supported stairs, flat ground and rough terrain. The next prototype targeted a 30 kg payload.

  Source
• 2025-09-01 - Funding - Refined Robotics announces investment from Antler Japan

  CEO Nick joined the Antler Japan programme in April 2025 and met co-founder and CTO Yui during the programme. The founders passed Antler's Investment Committee in June 2025 after developing their initial business model during the programme.

  Source

Relationships

• Evri

  Deployment Partner - Refined Robotics is trialling its two-legged parcel-delivery robot with Evri in Barnsley.

• Qualcomm

  AI Program For Innovators Apac 2026 - Refined Robotics participates in Qualcomm's 2026 APAC AI programme with platform access and engineering mentorship.

• Mitsui Fudosan

  Kashiwanoha Delivery Robot Proof Of Concept - Refined Robotics and Mitsui Fudosan conduct a delivery-robot proof of concept at KOIL Mobility Field.