Kakao Ventures, a leading Korean venture capital firm, has invested in Parallax Worlds, a U.S.-based robotics simulation startup. The seed funding amount was not disclosed. The round was led by Silicon Valley’s Pear VC, known for backing unicorn startups like DoorDash, Cognition, and Vanta, with participation from deep tech investors and Korean conglomerates.

Parallax Worlds develops a simulation platform that allows robots to train and test in virtual environments that mirror real-world conditions before deployment in industrial settings. The technology precisely replicates complex spaces like manufacturing facilities and logistics warehouses based on actual physics, eliminating the need for sophisticated specialized equipment.

Through high-fidelity virtual environments governed by real-world physics, robots can safely undergo tens of thousands of trial-and-error learning cycles. This approach maximizes robots’ environmental adaptation capabilities while enabling companies to build safe robotic operations at minimal cost.

Traditionally, industrial sites faced massive expenses and safety risks when introducing robotics. Operations had to halt for site measurements, and unexpected situations could trigger costly shutdowns. As robot adoption accelerates across industries, Parallax Worlds addresses the critical sim-to-real gap—the data void that emerges when transferring virtual environments to physical reality—lowering barriers to robot implementation.

The platform is currently being deployed across manufacturing, construction, and welding sectors where precise robotic control is essential. It offers universal compatibility with existing industrial simulation ecosystems including NVIDIA Omniverse, Unreal, and Unity, while maintaining high usability that allows field personnel to operate it easily—a key advantage in acquiring enterprise customers.

Following this funding, the company plans to expand into Asian markets, particularly Korea with its world-class manufacturing and robotics infrastructure, focusing on securing enterprise clients.

The Parallax Worlds team is anchored by alumni from Stanford University Professor Fei-Fei Li’s lab, a global authority in AI computer vision. Co-founders Tanmay Agarwal and Aumkar Renavikar are recognized as top-tier experts in Physical AI, having led robotics, 3D, and AI interface research at NVIDIA, BMW, and Michelin. They’re credited with combining cutting-edge academic theory with practical industrial expertise.

“Parallax Worlds possesses structural advantages that grow exponentially as robot hardware and AI models advance, backed by a team with world-class technical capabilities and networks in computer vision and robotics,” said Jungho Shin, Principal at Kakao Ventures. “We expect them to become critical infrastructure accelerating the robot-native era in Asia, the epicenter of global manufacturing and robotics.”

“Korea has the world’s most advanced manufacturing capabilities, making it an optimal market to maximize industrial utility,” said Tanmay Agarwal, CEO of Parallax Worlds. “We’re redefining how industries trust robots and will completely eliminate barriers to robot adoption in industrial settings.”