AVITA Inc. was founded

2021 Roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro Establishes “AVITA Inc.” 

Raises 520 million yen in funding from Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., CyberAgent, Inc., Shionogi & Co., Ltd., TOPPAN Inc., and Fujikin Incorporated.

Hiroshi Ishiguro has established AVITA Inc., a university-originated startup. By using avatar technologies to virtualize and multiplex the real world, AVITA aims to create a new world in which people are liberated from conventional constraints.

　Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University has been engaged in the research and development of human-interactive robots and avatars for more than 20 years. AVITA Inc. was founded to translate into real-world applications both the results of his research to date and the new outcomes that will be generated through various ongoing and future projects, including Japan’s Moonshot Research and Development Program (Goal 1), for which he serves as Project Manager, the Osaka–Kansai Expo, where he serves as Theme Project Producer, and collaborative initiatives with corporate partners.

Under the vision “Virtualize the Real World”, AVITA Inc. expands human potential through avatar technologies. People already live as multiple “selves” — at work, at home, and with friends. By using avatars, those selves can be further and more diversely extended into the real world, allowing individuals to act freely in a variety of ways according to different situations and purposes. We call this approach virtualizing and multiplexing the real world through avatars. As a university-originated startup, AVITA Inc. will create a new world that liberates people by virtualizing and multiplexing the real world.

To realize this vision, AVITA has raised 520 million yen in funding from Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., CyberAgent, Inc., Shionogi & Co., Ltd., TOPPAN Inc., and Fujikin Incorporated (listed in Japanese syllabary order). In collaboration with these companies, AVITA will work to bring avatars into real-world social implementation.

【Company Overview】

• Company Name
  AVITA Inc.

• Founding Members
  Board of Directors
  Representative Director & CEO: Hiroshi Ishiguro,Director & COO: Shogo Nishiguchi,Outside Director:Shuji Hamaguchi

• Advisors

  Masato Fujino,Yuichiro Takezaki

• Date of Establishment
  June 1, 2021

• Business Description
   Avatar services business
   Avatar production business

【Founding Member Profiles】

Representative Director & CEO – Hiroshi Ishiguro

• Professor (Honorary Professor) at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University

• Visiting Director (ATR Fellow) at ATR Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory

• Director, Center for Symbiotic Intelligent Systems, Osaka University’s leading interdisciplinary research organization

• Project Manager, Moonshot Research and Development Program, Goal 1

• Theme Project Producer, Osaka–Kansai Expo

Director & COO – Shogo Nishiguchi

• Completed programs at Suzuka National College of Technology and the Master’s Program at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University

• Developed “Kissenger” as a visiting researcher at City, University of London

• Developed autonomous dialogue systems as a visiting researcher at the University of Canterbury

• Engaged in HRI (Human–Robot Interaction) research as a visiting researcher at the Imagineering Institute

• Launched the Android Announcer Project at Nippon Television Network Corporation

• Founded the VTuber business “V-Clan” at Nippon Television and served as its Co-Representative

• Has produced numerous entertainment projects, including TV programs and virtual events

【Comments from Investors】

• CyberAgent, Inc.

  　Since April 2017, we have been working together with Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro on proof-of-concept experiments utilizing conversational agents, including robots, in a variety of fields. As a tech company focused on solving corporate challenges and promoting DX (digital transformation), we see “delivering the best possible customer experience” as a key element. To further strengthen this, we will work on expanding into real-world customer service using CG avatars and robot avatars as interfaces.

• Fujikin Incorporated

  　Our company develops, manufactures, and sells various valves as a manufacturer of special fluid control equipment. At the same time, we are also interested in developing actuators that can be used in robots and avatars that interact with people. We have already been providing services that use displays in places such as hospitals. By utilizing avatar technologies, we will strive to deliver services that are even more closely attuned to people’s needs.

• Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.

  　Since its founding more than 100 years ago, our company has continued to take on the challenge of providing various services and driving cutting-edge initiatives, with our energy business at the core. Going forward, by utilizing new technologies such as avatars, we will enhance communication with a diverse range of customers, develop and provide new services, and contribute to realizing a brighter future for our customers by supporting both their daily lives and businesses.

• Shionogi & Co., Ltd.

    We have been promoting various service offerings that utilize avatars, as well as conceptualizing digital twin businesses. By combining AVITA’s assets—such as its avatar and dialogue-related technologies and intellectual property—with our own assets, we aim not only to reinforce our existing businesses, but also to develop new businesses and bring new services to market.