AWL

AWL develops edge-AI video analytics that convert camera feeds into structured operational data. Founded in 2016 as a Hokkaido University startup, it reports more than 16,000 edge cameras deployed across Japan and serves retail, logistics, agriculture, mobility and other physical environments.

Facts

Segment: Perception
Country: Japan
Founded: 2016
Website: https://awl.co.jp/

Funding

2024-05-22 - Growth financing - $3M - AWL raises JPY 470M in growth financing - AWL added regional equity investors and public financing to fund edge-AI commercialization and international expansion. - source: awl.co.jp
2021-06-02 - Series B - $12.9M - AWL raises JPY 2B Series B - AWL completed a Rakuten Capital-led Series B to scale edge-AI products and nationwide deployments. - source: awl.co.jp
2020-02-03 - Series A - $5.2M - AWL secures JPY 810M Series A financing - AWL assembled an equity, credit and leasing package to expand its retail edge-AI camera business. - source: awl.co.jp

View funding

Investors

Asukanet - Participant - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2020-02-03
Bornrex - Participant - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2024-05-22
Chugoku Electric Power - Participant - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2021-06-02

View investors

Market context

Comparable profiles and adjacent companies connected by shared workflow, capability, or stack position.

REBOTNIX - workflow adjacency - workflow: Industrial Camera Machine Vision
NoTraffic - workflow adjacency - workflow: Industrial Camera Machine Vision
SandStar - workflow adjacency - workflow: Industrial Camera Machine Vision

View market context

Timeline

2025-09-15 - Demonstration - Weld Inspector detects ISO-classified defects live at Essen - Visitors saw the scanner identify and classify weld defects in real time. The demonstration applied inspection criteria aligned with ISO 5817, ISO 10042 and ISO 6520-1. IUNA shared its booth with AWL, combining AI inspection software with robotic-automation… - source: iuna.ai
2025-06-25 - Partnership - AWL launches stadium edge-AI demonstration - The partners announced selection for the MIC Regional Digital Transformation project on June 25, 2025. Far-edge devices at stadium cameras perform real-time risk assessment and AI video analysis while reducing communication loads. The joint demonstration… - source: awl.co.jp
2024-08-28 - Partnership - AWL signs Qualcomm ISV agreement - AWL announced the Qualcomm Technologies ISV agreement on August 28, 2024. The agreement created a path to certify AWL Engine compatibility with Snapdragon processors. AWL targeted wider global deployment and combined on-device vision with Qualcomm computing… - source: awl.co.jp

View timeline

Team

Muneharu Kitade - President and CEO - Leads AWL and its commercial expansion of edge-AI camera analytics.
Yasuhiro Tsuchida - Director and CTO - Directs AWL edge-AI research, product development and implementation engineering.

View team

Relations

Qualcomm - Isv Agreement - AWL joined Qualcomm ISV ecosystem to certify AWL Engine compatibility with Snapdragon processors.
Safie - Capital Alliance - AWL and Safie formed a capital and business alliance to jointly develop edge-AI analytics.
Vissel Kobe - Venue Partner - Vissel Kobe provides the Noevir Stadium operating environment for the joint edge-AI safety demonstration.

View relations