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.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Partnership
Segment
CEO
Founded
Origin
Products
Kepler v1.0
HL Human specs
Manufacturing target
Pre-orders
Infrastructure
Website
Financial stage
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source 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.
Highlanders Inc on the deployment map
Where Highlanders Inc's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Hiroya Masuoka CEOSEC-verified
- Hiroya Masuoka 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
Financial state
- Reporting period
- 2023-05-01 to 2026-07-23
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships (1)
- Highlanders x Mitsubishi Motors with Mitsubishi Motorsdevelopmentannouncedreported, not operationally verified
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 (1)
Common questions
- What is Highlanders Inc?
- 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.
- What does Highlanders Inc make?
- Highlanders Inc has 2 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: HLQ Pro, HL Human (Prototype N) (Highlanders Inc builds physical robots).
- Who is the CEO of Highlanders Inc?
- Hiroya Masuoka is the ceo of Highlanders Inc, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Where is Highlanders Inc headquartered?
- Highlanders Inc is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
- Where does Highlanders Inc operate robots?
- Highlanders Inc is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is Highlanders Inc safe?
- Highlanders Inc has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-24
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-24
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Highlanders Inc.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
Detailed analysis of the Mitsubishi-Highlanders partnership: Kepler v1.0 10B-parameter foundation model, HL Human specs (1.4m, 3kg payload), 1,000 units/month target, and Japan's…
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
Video
Mitsubishi Motors + Highlanders Kyoto Humanoid Full episode: https://youtube.com/watch?v=asJeVj30Bq8 More RoboBrief: https://robobrief.tech Daily newsletter: https://robobrief.beehiiv.com #shorts #robotics #AI #humanoi
Mitsubishi Motors has signed an MOU with Highlanders, a University of Tokyo robotics startup, to jointly develop humanoid robots for its manufacturing plants —