NeoArcRobotics Raises $332K Seed Round to Build Cutting and Welding Robots for Korea’s Shipyards

NeoArcRobotics, a Korean startup developing physical AI-powered robotic automation for shipbuilding and construction sites, has raised $332,325 (500 million KRW) in a seed round led by Futureplay.

The startup builds total robotic automation solutions for industrial processes such as cutting, welding, and logistics. Korea’s shipbuilding and construction industries require highly skilled labor but suffer from chronic worker shortages due to the demanding and hazardous nature of the work. NeoArc Robotics is addressing this gap through robotics automation, developing physical AI systems that learn the techniques and know-how of skilled workers from data and reproduce them through robots.

The company’s core technology is a 3D steel section cutting robot system. Vision AI measures the shape, position, and deformation of various steel materials, including angles, H-beams, channels, and pipes, to automatically perform optimal cuts. The system has changed a process that once required four workers into one that a single operator can manage, boosting productivity by more than 50%.

NeoArcRobotics has also developed an intelligent welding robot system that supports multiple welding methods, including FCAW, GTAW, and GMAW. By applying direct-teaching functions found in collaborative robots, operators can use the system without additional programming. The company has additionally introduced an autonomous mobile logistics robot equipped with mecanum wheels that allows free movement and direction changes in tight spaces.

Founded in April 2024, NeoArcRobotics has completed 28 robotics automation projects, including three government-funded initiatives, since its launch. In 2025, the company installed its systems at production sites operated by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, where the technology’s performance was validated. The company is currently in discussions with both shipbuilders about deploying additional equipment.

NeoArcRobotics plans to use the new funding to advance laser-cutting technology and develop a mobile welding robot system, which it aims to bring to commercial sites by 2027. The company is also in talks to supply equipment in connection with Hanwha Ocean’s expansion into the Philly Shipyard in the United States, with plans to apply its equipment to a US production line starting in 2028.

Namwoo Lee, Senior Investment Manager at Futureplay’s Investment Division 1, who led the round, said cutting and welding are core processes in shipbuilding but remain areas where automation has been slow to take hold because materials and working environments are highly irregular. He added that true automation requires more than simple machine control — it requires transplanting the skill and instinct of experienced workers into robots. Lee said NeoArcRobotics has already proven its technology by supplying systems to major shipyards, and that the team’s years of on-site experience position it to lead automation in the shipbuilding industry.

“Labor shortages in the shipbuilding and construction industries are worsening every year,” the company’s CEO said. “Adopting robots is no longer optional — it’s essential.” The CEO added that the company plans to build AI-based production environments that minimize the need for worker intervention.