The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Highlanders Inc: 2 models. 2 sources back the record.
CategoryHumanoids
Overview
Highlanders is a Tokyo-based robotics startup developing general-purpose humanoid robots and the Kepler AI foundation model for physical intelligence. Founded in May 2023, the company builds the HL Human (prototype N) — a 1.4m-tall humanoid with 19 degrees of freedom designed for factory tasks — and the HLQ Pro quadruped for heavier transport.
In July 2026, Highlanders signed an MOU with Mitsubishi Motors to jointly develop humanoid robots and mass-produce them at Mitsubishi's Kyoto Plant starting as early as 2027, targeting 1,000 units per month.
Reality check
HL Human (company-claimed)
1.4 m, 19 DOF, 3 kg payload, 3 km/h; stereo cameras and lidar; VLA capable.
Kepler v1.0 (company-claimed)
10B-parameter multimodal physical AI model.
Infrastructure (company-claimed)
HISUI training cluster and Artery over-the-air data pipeline.
Mitsubishi MOU (company-claimed, Jul 2026)
Joint humanoid work; production at Kyoto Plant from early 2027; Mitsubishi invested.
Targets (company-claimed)
1,000 humanoids a month by 2H 2027; 5,000+ contacts and pre-orders.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
CEO (reported, unconfirmed)
Data & sources
Web sources
2
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
HLQ Pro
Quadrupedal robot for heavier transport tasks, complementing the HL Human humanoid. Part of Highlanders' HLQ Series of robots.
Current platform
HL Human (Prototype N)
General-purpose humanoid robot designed for factory work. 1.4m tall with 19 degrees of freedom, 3kg payload, 3km/h walking speed, 3D stereo cameras, LiDAR, and Vision-Language-Action capability. Five-fingered hands enable use of existing tools and workstations without factory modification.
Partnerships
Every company Highlanders Inc has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Mitsubishi Motors1× joint
Most recent
- Highlanders x Mitsubishi Motors2026-07-09with Mitsubishi Motorsjust announced
Highlanders Inc on the deployment map
View the global mapHighlanders Inc has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Highlanders Inc on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Highlanders Inc to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Hiroya Masuoka CEO, FounderSEC-verified
Founders (1)
- Hiroya Masuokacofounder
Safety record
No incidents on record for Highlanders Inc.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
Highlanders Inc in third-party press
"Manufacturing Renaissance" in Japan? Mitsubishi Motors to Mass-Produce Humanoid Robots by 2027
Mitsubishi Motors and Highlanders Sign MOU to Establish a New Industrial Foundation Where Humans and Robots Work Together
Mitsubishi joins global robot race, plans to manufacture, deploy humanoid workers in 2027
Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- 1X Technologies5 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
Mentioned on (1)
Registry pages whose text names Highlanders Inc.
People (1)
Partnerships
1 total · 1 just announced
Every company Highlanders Inc has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- Highlanders x Mitsubishi Motors2026-07-09with Mitsubishi Motorsjust announced
Most-frequent partners
- 1Mitsubishi Motors1× joint
All 1 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Highlanders x Mitsubishi MotorswithMitsubishi Motorsdevelopment2026-07-09announcedjust announced
Timeline
Every recorded move in Highlanders Inc’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
PartnershipHighlanders x Mitsubishi Motors
2026-07-09Mitsubishi Motors and Highlanders signed an MOU to jointly develop humanoid robots for automotive manufacturing and explore mass production at Mitsubishi Motors Kyoto Plant starting as early as 2027. Mitsubishi Motors has already invested in Highlanders. Target: 1,000 units/month by 2H 2027.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 24, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Sources (2)
Common questions
What is Highlanders Inc?
What does Highlanders Inc make?
Is Highlanders Inc publicly traded?
Who competes with Highlanders Inc?
Who is the CEO of Highlanders Inc?
How can I invest in Highlanders Inc?
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Who owns Highlanders Inc?
Where does Highlanders Inc operate robots?
Is Highlanders Inc a top robotics company?
Is Highlanders Inc safe?
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-22
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-22
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Highlanders Inc.Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- 1X Technologies5 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Highlanders Inc from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
"Manufacturing Renaissance" in Japan? Mitsubishi Motors to Mass-Produce Humanoid Robots by 2027
In a world first, the automotive giant is repurposing its historic Kyoto plant to build "physical AI" robots in an effort to solve Japan’s annual labor deficit of 900,000 people.
Mitsubishi Motors and Highlanders Sign MOU to Establish a New Industrial Foundation Where Humans and Robots Work Together
Mitsubishi Motors and Highlanders sign an MOU to jointly develop humanoid robots and explore mass production at Mitsubishi's Kyoto Plant, marking the first…
Mitsubishi joins global robot race, plans to manufacture, deploy humanoid workers in 2027
Mitsubishi Motors partners with Highlanders Inc. to develop humanoid robots for factory work and mass-produce them at its Kyoto engine plant as early as 2027, targeting 1,000…
Mitsubishi Is Bringing Humanoid Robots to Its Factories as Japan Runs Out of Workers
Mitsubishi partners with Highlanders, a University of Tokyo-linked humanoid robotics and AI startup, to deploy humanoid robots in its factories amid Japan's demographic crisis.
Mitsubishi Motors Bets on Humanoid Robots to Rescue Japan's Factories
Technical analysis of Highlanders' HL Human: 19 DOF, 3km/h walking, VLA capability, collision detection and safety systems for human-robot collaborative workspaces.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/highlanders.md
- RSS feed: /companies/highlanders/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/9efbc968-eb3d-4e2b-9d4c-41c353938fc6
- Revision history: /companies/highlanders/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- 1X Technologies5 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
Video
4499 The Highlanders went on a huge redemption regular season with 3 wins after all finalists last year. Their Charged Up robot has an elegant design with their
The Highlanders Robot Reveal Shot On: RED SCARLET-X Lens: Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 Sony α7 II Lens: 28-70mm kit lens Created With: Adobe Premiere Pro 2020 Adobe Ill
Mitsubishi Motors + Highlanders Kyoto Humanoid Full episode: https://youtube.com/watch?v=asJeVj30Bq8 More RoboBrief: https://robobrief.tech Daily newsletter: h
🔔Subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a thing!🔔 🤗Follow Us!🤗 TikTok - @FRCTeam533 Twitter - @FRCTeam533 Instagram - @F
Mitsubishi Motors has signed an MOU with Highlanders, a University of Tokyo robotics startup, to jointly develop humanoid robots for its manufacturing plants —
Heat Index
Serious52/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Highlanders Inc draws attention at the 15th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among humanoids.
6-month trend
Analysis
Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 22, 2026