ugo raises ¥1B in debt funding for Nova semi-humanoid production

Japanese robotics company ugo has secured ¥1 billion in debt financing from Mizuho Bank, Bank of Yokohama and Japan Finance Corporation, bringing reported cumulative financing to approximately ¥5 billion. Announced on 21 October, the borrowing will support AI model development, preparation for ugo Nova mass production and physical AI services.

ugo introduced Nova in September as a Japan-built semi-humanoid platform for robot-learning data collection and industrial tasks. The new financing will help establish its production system and support development of domestic robot hardware alongside models that recognise surroundings and select actions for work sites.

The company has developed its existing service robots around security patrols and equipment inspection in offices, commercial buildings, plants and power facilities. Its ugo mini inspection robot passed 100 cumulative shipments in March 2026. Operational data and experience from those sites feed development of subsequent robot functions and AI services.

ugo is also building a data and model-development service around its hardware. Data-collection kits and ugo Data Factory support the capture and preparation of physical-world demonstrations, while ugo Model Lab covers foundation-model development, evaluation and implementation. The latest capital is allocated across those models, robot manufacturing and services intended for manufacturing and other facility operators.