Marubeni Ventures Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Marubeni Ventures”) has invested in Linkwiz Inc. (headquarters: Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture; President and CEO: Go Fukino; hereinafter referred to as “Linkwiz”), which is promoting the automation of industrial robots utilizing a 3D shape processing engine.

Linkwiz was founded in 2015 in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, a manufacturing hub, with the corporate mission of “Revolutionizing work through robotics that inherits human craftsmanship.” Currently, the company provides production optimization systems (“L-ROBOT”), automated inspection systems (“L-QUALIFY”), and production data management and analysis tools (“LINKWIZ FACTORY CLOUD”) to manufacturing sites of automotive-related companies, agricultural machinery-related companies, and metal processing companies. In addition, Linkwiz has begun offering the “L-ROBOT Sheet Metal Welding Package,” which specializes in sheet metal welding, primarily targeting small and medium-sized enterprises.

Linkwiz’s system connects with a scanner attached to the tip of a robot arm, converting the 3D shape of the workpiece into digital data precisely and in a short time. By performing proprietary analysis on the acquired digital data, the system conducts visual inspections of the workpiece and automatically adjusts welding operations by the robot. This allows industrial robots to flexibly respond to unprogrammed events, such as misalignment of the workpiece or variations in welding points due to inconsistent processing, which they have traditionally struggled with.

Marubeni Ventures decided to invest in Linkwiz, recognizing that its system could enhance operational efficiency across various manufacturing sites and facilitate the transfer of craftsmanship skills amidst the trend of manufacturing bases diversifying and spreading globally due to the diversification of supply chains. Moving forward, Marubeni Ventures will leverage the expertise and network of the Marubeni Group to support the further business expansion of Linkwiz both domestically and globally.

Linwiz
Headquarter : Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
Founder & CEO :  Go Fukino
Shareholders : Shijo No.8 Limited Partnership, Emellience Partners, Global Brain, Panasonic Holdings, Mitsutoyo Corporation, Tech Accel Ventures LLC, TOHOKU University Venture Partners, SMBC Venture Capital etc.

To view in a PDF format, please click here.