No-Code Welding Robot Startup RB-Ware Raises USD 680,000 Seed Funding, Surpasses 250 Units Installed Across 16 Countries

Sparklabs has invested in RB-Ware, a no-code welding and grinding collaborative robot system company, the accelerator announced on September 30.

Global hard-tech accelerator SOSV co-invested in the Seed round, bringing the total funding to 900 million won (approximately USD 680,000).

Founded in 2022, RB-Ware addresses labor shortages in manufacturing caused by the aging and retirement of skilled welders by developing and supplying ‘RB-MIG’, a no-code welding and grinding collaborative robot system that shop-floor workers can operate without separate programming.

Based in South Korea, RB-Ware has expanded to 16 countries including Turkey, the United States, and the Netherlands, distributing its products through a network of 21 partner system integrators (SIs). As of September this year, cumulative global installations have surpassed 250 units.

RB-Ware has been actively expanding into the shipbuilding and heavy industry sectors since this year. In February, the company signed a proof-of-concept (PoC) contract with Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri for autonomous robot grinding.

Alongside this investment, RB-Ware has been selected for SOSV’s hard-tech accelerator program ‘HAX’ and plans to focus on the U.S. market and the development of ‘RB-AW’, an AI-powered autonomous mobile welding robot. Long-term, the company aims to build an ‘AWaaS (Autonomous Welders as a Service)’ model that provides autonomous welding robots in a service format.

“We decided to invest because RB-Ware has built global supply track records with its no-code welding solution that shop-floor workers can use easily,” said Eugene Kim, Managing Partner at Sparklabs. “Based on the on-site experience and partner network secured through existing products, we expect the company to advance autonomous welding technology and expand into the global shipbuilding and heavy industry markets.”

Co-CEO Jaehyuk Lee said, “Starting with a no-code welding robot that anyone can use immediately on-site, we are now advancing toward a stage where robots autonomously judge, move, and weld. Through this investment, we will accelerate the development of autonomous welding technology.”