Rainbow Robotics

Market context

Represents South Korea's primary commercial humanoid robotics lineage, transitioning from academic research (HUBO) into deployable robotic platforms with backing from major industrial players. HUBO

Products

• HUBO2
• RBQ Series

Facts

• Website: https://www.rainbow-robotics.com
• HQ: Daejeon, South Korea
• Founded: 2011
• Ticker: 277810.KQ / KOSDAQ
• Segment: humanoid robotics

South Korean robot platform builder spanning cobots and humanoids

Rainbow Robotics develops robot platforms including collaborative robots, mobile manipulators and humanoid systems. The company originated from KAIST humanoid robotics work and has become strategically important after Samsung Electronics became its largest shareholder.

• Target environment: Factories, research labs, industrial automation settings, mobile manipulation environments and humanoid robotics development contexts.
• Deployment model: Robot platform model built around collaborative robot hardware, humanoid systems, mobile manipulators, public-market operations and strategic Samsung ownership.
• Customer context: Manufacturers, research users, industrial automation customers, Samsung-linked robotics programs and companies evaluating mobile manipulators or cobots.
• Workflow context: Collaborative robotics, humanoid research, mobile manipulation, industrial automation, bipedal robotics and robot platform development.
• Commercial maturity: Rainbow Robotics has an established product base and strategic backing from Samsung. Its maturity is strongest in cobots and robot platforms, with humanoid relevance rooted in KAIST HUBO lineage and…
• Market position: South Korean robotics builder positioned between industrial cobots, mobile manipulation and humanoid platform development.
• Adoption constraints: Samsung integration, global channel execution, production scaling, customer support, product differentiation and the transition from platform supply to higher-volume deployment.
• Adjacent context: Collaborative robotics, humanoid robotics, mobile manipulation, industrial automation, Korean robotics and Samsung robotics strategy.
• Source confidence: high

Events

• 2026-06-26 - Partnership - Rainbow Robotics partners with Compose Coffee on automated cafe model - The partnership links Rainbow Robotics with Compose Coffee cafe network. The collaboration centered on an automated cafe model rather than a live fleet rollout. Compose Coffee is retained as a freeform counterparty rather than a new robotics profile.
• 2026-06-22 - Partnership - CMES Robotics and Rainbow Robotics sign dual-arm robot development MOU - The MOU covers joint development and commercialization of dual-arm robots for logistics and manufacturing. Rainbow Robotics is responsible for dual-arm robot hardware, control systems and field feedback. CMES Robotics is responsible for AI software, logistics…
• 2025-02-04 - Demonstration - Rainbow Robotics collaboration supports successful preclinical trials for Erop's laparoscopic surgery-assist robot - Erop announced successful cadaver-based preclinical trials for laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a second-generation cooperative surgical robot developed in collaboration with Rainbow Robotics. The release said the updated robot reduced arm interference, add…
• 2024-12-31 - Market Signal - Samsung Electronics moves to become the largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics - Samsung Electronics announced that it would exercise a call option to raise its stake in Rainbow Robotics to 35 percent and make the company a subsidiary in Samsung's consolidated financial statements. Samsung said the move was intended to accelerate future r…
• 2024-05-08 - Product Launch - Rainbow Robotics begins pre-orders for the RB-Y1 bimanual mobile manipulator - Rainbow Robotics said pre-orders for RB-Y1 would open on May 8, with the research platform priced at 80,000 USD and the commercial platform at 120,000 USD before VAT. The company said deliveries would begin sequentially in October and positioned RB-Y1 as a co…
• 2024-04-05 - Product Launch - Rainbow Robotics unveils RB-Y1, Korea's first bimanual mobile manipulator - Rainbow Robotics released detailed specifications and performance videos for RB-Y1, describing it as Korea's first bimanual mobile manipulator. The company said RB-Y1 combines a wheeled high-speed mobile base with a humanoid-style dual-arm body, 20-axis full-…
• 2024-02-22 - Partnership - Rainbow Robotics signs trilateral agreement with Schaeffler and KETI for AI mobile dual-arm robot development - Rainbow Robotics signed an MOU with Schaeffler and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute to co-develop AI-based mobile dual-arm robots and related operating technologies. The agreement assigned Schaeffler to supply key components including gearboxes, KET…
• 2023-04-17 - Facility Opening - Rainbow Robotics opens a U.S. branch to accelerate global expansion - Rainbow Robotics announced the establishment of a U.S. branch in Schaumburg, Illinois to sell collaborative robots and build a customer-management team in the American market. The company said the move followed the setup of two German distributors and formed…
• 2015-09-21 - Research Publication - DRC-HUBO+ vision paper details depth-processing system for disaster-response tasks - The paper presents a vision system and depth-processing algorithm for DRC-HUBO+, the robot platform that won the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge finals. It focuses on robust 3D scene and object capture under challenging real-world conditions. This enriches HUBO…
• 2014-03-01 - Research Publication - Improvement Trend of a Humanoid Robot Platform HUBO2+ - The paper reviews improvement trends for the HUBO2+ humanoid robot platform. The title names HUBO2+ directly, making the humanoid product binding explicit. The artifact adds historical platform-development context for HUBO-family humanoid research.

Team

• Lee Jungho - CEO - Current operating leader for Rainbow Robotics as the company scales robot platforms under Samsung's majority ownership.
• Oh Jun-ho - Founder - Historically important founder link between Rainbow Robotics and South Korea's KAIST humanoid robotics base.

Supply chain relationships

• Leaderdrive - Harmonic Reducer Supplier Via Distributor - Leaderdrive harmonic reducers reach Rainbow Robotics through Leaderdrive's Korean distributor channel.
• CMES Robotics - Dual Arm Robot Development Mou - CMES and Rainbow Robotics signed an MOU pairing Physical AI software with dual-arm hardware for logistics and manufacturing.

Relationships

• Schaeffler AG - Technology Partner - Rainbow Robotics, Schaeffler and KETI signed an MOU for AI mobile dual-arm robots, with Schaeffler supplying gearboxes.

Context tags

• Humanoid builders - Peer Group
• Industrial robotics companies - Peer Group