KDDI via its corporate venture fund, KDDI Open Innovation Fund has invested in U.S.-based Jibo, an intelligent social robot that can sense and respond to consumers in the home environment, learning as he engages and providing help, fun and companionship to everyone in the family. With KDDI's investment, Jibo has closed $11M in a Series A funding that includes investors such as Acer, Dentsu and LG Uplus.
Jibo was conceived by founder Cynthia Breazeal, Associate Professor at MIT and leader of the Personal Robots Group of the MIT Media Lab. KDDI recognizes Jibo as a promising startup company in the robotics market and has formed a capital alliance with the company.
Through this investment, KDDI plans to offer Jibo a wide range of support including business development, marketing, and localization, when Jibo expands to the Japanese market. Furthermore, KDDI plans to provide customers a world borne from the new communication of families and objects centering on Jibo.
