South Korean startup ROAI, a developer of AI robotics-based autonomous production solutions, has raised approximately USD 1 million(KRW 1.4 billion) in a seed funding round. The investment was led by FuturePlay, with participation from Schmidt and Mark&Company.

ROAI is a spin-off from Hyundai Motor Company’s Manufacturing Solutions Division, leveraging deep manufacturing expertise to address the complexity and labor dependence in factory automation. The company’s flagship platform, XELO, is an integrated system that automates the entire manufacturing process—from design to robotic control.

Through XELO Workspace, users can design factory layouts and simulate production processes in a browser-based 3D environment. Meanwhile, XELO AI autonomously handles complex tasks such as workflow distribution, speed optimization, and motion planning—enabling full process automation with a single click.

“ROAI’s strongest asset is its domain expertise, which enables it to build planning solutions not just for individual robots but for entire factory operations,” said Aram Jeon, Principal at FuturePlay. “As robot adoption increases and manufacturing processes grow more complex, ROAI’s solutions—rooted in real-world in-house venture experience—offer strong scalability.”

CEO Seokui Hong shared the company’s vision: “Under the concept of a ‘One-Click Factory,’ ROAI aims to democratize factory automation, allowing anyone to set up a smart production line effortlessly. Our goal is to establish a new standard in manufacturing by enabling fully unmanned autonomous factories through unified control of 6-axis robots, AGVs(Automated Guided Vehicle), and humanoids.”With the new funding, ROAI plans to Launch the beta version of XELO Workspace in the second half of 2025, recruit top talent in AI and robotics, accelerate AI-powered automation projects with domestic and global manufacturers, and build a testbed factory to validate and enhance its fully autonomous production technologies.