WIRobotics
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| WIRobotics | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Full name | WIRobotics Co., Ltd. |
| Korean name | 위로보틱스 |
| Founded | June 2021 |
| Founders | Four former Samsung Robotics Development Team engineers |
| Co-CEOs | Yong-Jae Kim, Younbaek Lee |
| Headquarters | Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea |
| Industry | Robotics, Wearable technology |
| Products | ALLEX humanoid robot, WIM wearable robots, WIBS back-support robot |
| Series A funding | KRW 13 billion (March 2024) |
| Series B funding | KRW 95 billion / ~USD 68 million (May 2026) |
| Total raised | ~KRW 108 billion |
| Website | wirobotics.com |
WIRobotics (Korean: 위로보틱스) is a South Korean robotics company that develops wearable assistive robots and general-purpose humanoid robots. Founded in June 2021 by four former engineers from Samsung's Robotics Development Team, the company is headquartered in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, and is best known for its WIM series of walking-assist wearable robots and its ALLEX humanoid platform. WIRobotics has raised roughly KRW 108 billion across two funding rounds, including a KRW 95 billion (approximately USD 68 million) Series B in May 2026, and has won CES Innovation Awards for three consecutive years from 2024 through 2026.[1][2][3][7]
The company operates under the corporate vision "Technology for People, Enhancing Quality of Life" and is co-led by Yong-Jae Kim, who also serves as Chief Technology Officer and as a professor at the Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH), and Younbaek Lee.[1][2] WIRobotics initially gained recognition for its WIM walking-assist wearable robots, which had surpassed 3,000 cumulative units sold by mid-2026, before expanding into general-purpose humanoid robotics with its ALLEX platform in 2025.[1][7] Its strategy bridges wearable assistive devices for everyday users and high-degree-of-freedom humanoid platforms for service, manufacturing, and household tasks.[1]
WIRobotics is a robotics startup that designs and sells two complementary product families: lightweight wearable robots that assist walking and reduce lower-back load, and a general-purpose humanoid platform called ALLEX. The founders set out to bring robots out of laboratories and industrial sites into everyday applications, articulating a guiding philosophy that technology should support human will rather than replace it.[1][2] The company pursues short-term commercialization of wearable robots that deliver immediate value to consumers and patients, alongside a longer-term ambition to deliver a general-purpose humanoid platform accessible to everyday users by 2030.[1]
WIRobotics was established in June 2021 by four engineers who left Samsung's robotics division. Two of the founders, Yong-Jae Kim and Younbaek Lee, serve as Co-CEOs of the company.[1][2][3] The founding team set up operations in Cheonan, a city in Chungcheongnam-do province known for its concentration of technology and research facilities, and registered the company headquarters at 1600 Chungjeol-ro, Byeongcheon-myeon, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan.[1][3]
WIRobotics is jointly led by two Co-CEOs:
Both Co-CEOs are part of the founding team of four former Samsung Robotics Development Team engineers who established the company in June 2021.[1][3]
The founders identified two complementary opportunities at the outset: short-term commercialization of wearable robots that could deliver immediate value to consumers and patients, and a longer-term ambition to deliver a general-purpose humanoid platform accessible to everyday users by 2030. The founding philosophy that technology should support human will rather than replace it has continued to shape both the wearable and humanoid product lines.[1][2]
WIRobotics brought its first wearable robot, the WIM lower-back and walking-assist device, to market as a B2B product, establishing the company's foothold in the South Korean assistive technology market and providing the operational base needed to pursue more ambitious robotics platforms. During this period, the company also developed the WIBS industrial back-support robot, a complementary unpowered product aimed at workers in physically demanding occupations.[2][3]
In the same period, WIRobotics established what it describes as Korea's first Wearable Robot Gait Training Center, a facility intended to support the clinical evaluation and rehabilitation use of wearable assistive robotics.[2]
In March 2024, WIRobotics closed a Series A funding round of approximately KRW 13 billion, intended to accelerate the commercialization and global rollout of its wearable robot lineup. The round was led by InterVest, with participation from GU Equity Partners, JB Investment, Company K Partners, Hana Ventures, and FuturePlay. The capital injection enabled an expansion of the company's research and engineering teams and supported the buildout of facilities used for the development of the ALLEX humanoid platform.[3][7]
In June 2024, WIRobotics established the Robot Innovation Hub (RIH) at the First Campus of the Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) in Cheonan. The facility serves as the company's primary humanoid research base and is the venue at which the company unveiled the upper body of ALLEX in 2025. The location reflects the close ties between WIRobotics' executive team and KOREATECH, where Co-CEO Yong-Jae Kim holds an academic appointment.[2]
On August 18, 2025, WIRobotics unveiled the upper body of its first general-purpose humanoid robot, ALLEX, at the Robot Innovation Hub on the KOREATECH campus. The name ALLEX is an acronym for "ALL-EXperience," reflecting the company's framing of the platform as a robot designed to physically experience and respond to the real world rather than to merely replicate scripted human movement. The unveiling marked WIRobotics' formal transition from a wearable-robot specialist into a multi-platform robotics company spanning both wearables and humanoids.[1][2]
At the unveiling, Co-CEO Kim characterized ALLEX as a robot that goes beyond replicating human movement, stating that it is "the first robot that truly experiences and responds to the real world."[1]
In November 2025, WIRobotics announced that the WIM KIDS variant of its walking-assist wearable robot had won a CES 2026 Innovation Award in the Digital Health category, marking the company's third consecutive year as a CES Innovation Award honoree.[4] In January 2026, WIRobotics participated in CES 2026 in Las Vegas, exhibiting at the Venetian Expo (Hall A-D, booth #54735) where it presented live movement and interaction demonstrations of ALLEX alongside the WIM S wearable robot.[5]
Following the show, WIRobotics described CES 2026 as a transition from technology presentation toward concrete execution of global partnerships. The company reported expressions of purchase interest and discussion of joint development from major technology firms including NVIDIA, Meta, and Amazon, and described advancing distribution discussions in Mexico, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, as well as potential collaborations with senior living communities and U.S. government programs. WIRobotics indicated that ALLEX would be made available as a research platform during 2026.[6]
On May 14, 2026, WIRobotics announced that it had secured a Series B funding round of approximately KRW 95 billion (about USD 68 million), bringing its total capital raised to roughly KRW 108 billion. The round was led by JB Investment, with participation from InterVest, Hana Ventures, Smilegate Investment, SBVA, NH Investment & Securities, Company K Partners, GU Investment, and FuturePlay.[7] The company said the funding would accelerate development of its ALLEX humanoid robotics platform, expand global operations including the establishment of a North American entity in California, and scale toward commercialization of its Mobile ALLEX research platform.[7]
In announcing the round, Co-CEO Younbaek Lee said: "This investment represents global recognition that real-world movement data and control technologies can evolve into next-generation humanoid robotics." Co-CEO Yong-Jae Kim added: "Our mission is to realize humanoids capable of fundamentally human-like interaction and force control."[7]
WIRobotics makes a general-purpose humanoid robot (ALLEX), a family of walking-assist wearable robots (the WIM series, including WIM S and WIM KIDS), and an industrial back-support robot (WIBS).[1][2][4]
ALLEX is WIRobotics' general-purpose humanoid robot platform, designed to interact safely and effectively with people in unstructured everyday environments. The robot is engineered to detect and respond to physical stimuli such as force, contact, and impact in the real world, and to deliver compliant, human-like manipulation rather than rigid scripted motion.[1][2]
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Hand DOF | 15 per hand |
| Hand weight | ~700 g per hand |
| Fingertip force | 40 N |
| Hook grip strength | Over 30 kg |
| Single-hand payload | More than 3 kg across full workspace |
| Fingertip repeatability | 0.3 mm or less |
| Force sensitivity | Detects forces as small as 100 gf without dedicated tactile sensors |
| Arm assembly weight | ~5 kg from shoulder to hand |
| Arm friction | Approximately 10x lower than conventional collaborative robot arms |
WIRobotics says ALLEX's strength-to-weight ratio for its hands and arms surpasses that of many larger robots weighing over 20 kilograms, a positioning the company highlighted in coverage of its CES 2026 demonstrations.[1]
During the August 2025 unveiling, WIRobotics disclosed a partnership with the physical AI startup RLWRLD, which is responsible for developing components of ALLEX's intelligence layer. The company also identified research collaborations with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the University of Massachusetts (UMass), and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). Switzerland-based motor and drive company Maxon was identified as an equipment partner for the platform.[1] WIRobotics has said it intends to expand ALLEX into a modular platform, supplying arms, hands, body, and leader systems individually or in combination, and to build a foundation for commercialization through field demonstrations across industries.[1]
The WIM series consists of lightweight wearable robots designed to assist walking, posture, and lower-back load for a range of users including healthy adults, seniors, and rehabilitation patients. The series is differentiated by its small form factor and emphasis on usability outside clinical environments. WIM had surpassed 3,000 cumulative units sold by mid-2026 and had expanded into overseas markets including Europe, China, Turkiye, and Japan.[2][4][7]
The original WIM is a lower-back and walking-assist wearable robot positioned for daily mobility assistance. It serves as the foundational product of the WIM family. WIM won CES Innovation Awards in both the Robotics and Accessibility & Aging Tech categories at CES 2024.[2][6]
WIM S is an enhanced iteration of the walking-assist wearable robot. The product weighs approximately 1.6 kg, can be put on by a user in under 30 seconds, and incorporates a compact design with waterproofing, dustproofing, and replaceable batteries. It was the focus of WIRobotics' showcase at CES 2026 Unveiled, where the company highlighted real-world usability and ergonomic design. From 2025 onward, the WIM S has been sold internationally, with the company expanding distribution into European, Chinese, and Japanese markets.[4][5]
WIM KIDS is a walking-assist wearable robot specifically designed for growing children between the ages of 4 and 15. The product weighs less than 1 kg, approximately 37 percent lighter than the adult WIM S model. Its central differentiating technology is the "Growth-Adaptive Frame," a modular leg frame system whose components can be replaced in three stages to accommodate a child's growth over time.[4]
WIM KIDS combines this growth-based mechanical design with an AI-powered personalized gait control algorithm that adapts assistance levels to each user's unique movement patterns. WIM KIDS won the CES 2026 Innovation Award in Digital Health, with judges citing both the size-adjustment engineering and the ergonomic design approach. The product is intended to support children with lower-limb weakness or mobility challenges as well as healthy children seeking gait training and rehabilitation support.[4]
WIBS (We Innovate Back Support) is WIRobotics' unpowered industrial back-support robot, designed for use in workplaces that require repetitive lifting or extended periods of forward-bent posture. The product targets occupational health and worker safety applications and was developed alongside the consumer-oriented WIM line.[2]
With ALLEX, WIRobotics targets sectors that require direct interaction with people in unstructured environments. Stated focus areas include:
WIRobotics has stated that its long-term goal is to deliver a general-purpose humanoid platform accessible to anyone in everyday life by 2030.[1]
The WIM family targets a complementary but distinct set of applications:
WIRobotics has raised approximately KRW 108 billion across two disclosed funding rounds.[7]
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead investor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | March 2024 | ~KRW 13 billion | InterVest |
| Series B | May 2026 | ~KRW 95 billion (~USD 68 million) | JB Investment |
The March 2024 Series A was led by InterVest, with participation from GU Equity Partners, JB Investment, Company K Partners, Hana Ventures, and FuturePlay, and was earmarked to accelerate commercialization of the WIM wearable robot family.[3][7] The May 2026 Series B was led by JB Investment, with participation from InterVest, Hana Ventures, Smilegate Investment, SBVA, NH Investment & Securities, Company K Partners, GU Investment, and FuturePlay, and was directed toward ALLEX development, global expansion (including a North American entity in California), and commercialization of the Mobile ALLEX research platform.[7]
WIRobotics has been recognized at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in three consecutive years:
WIRobotics was also selected for the second cohort of the Physical AI Fellowship, a program supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS), NVIDIA, and MassRobotics. The fellowship is intended to support startups developing physical AI and robotics technologies, and the selection reflects WIRobotics' positioning at the intersection of robotics hardware and AI-driven control.[5]
From 2025 onward, WIRobotics moved beyond its initial South Korean market into international sales of the WIM family. By mid-2026, WIM had surpassed 3,000 cumulative units sold and had expanded into overseas markets including Europe, China, Turkiye, and Japan, gaining traction in healthcare and senior exercise channels.[4][7] As part of its Series B plans, the company announced the establishment of a North American entity in California to support commercialization of its humanoid and wearable robots.[7]
Following CES 2026, WIRobotics indicated that distribution partnership discussions were advancing in Mexico, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, with the company describing the show as a pivot point from presenting technology to executing real collaboration with global partners. The company also reported interest from major U.S. technology firms including NVIDIA, Meta, and Amazon related to potential commercial and technical collaborations, and described conversations with senior living communities and U.S. government programs as part of its commercialization roadmap.[6]