GMO Humanoid Lab

GMO Humanoid Lab is a humanoid robotics and Physical AI research facility operated by GMO AI & Robotics Corporation (GMO AIR), a subsidiary of Japan's GMO Internet Group. The lab opened in April 2026 on the 11th floor of Cerulean Tower in Shibuya, Tokyo, and is positioned by GMO as one of the largest Physical AI R&D hubs in Japan. GMO AI & Robotics Corporation itself was established on June 18, 2024, as GMO Internet Group's dedicated entry point into the AI and robotics business, and the Humanoid Lab is the group's flagship research site for turning that strategy into deployable systems.

The lab's public tagline is "Physical AI for Everyone," reflecting its stated goal of applying humanoid robotics to real-world social challenges rather than confining research to a laboratory setting. Engineers and AI researchers at the facility work across three core programs: whole-body motion control, developed through imitation learning and reinforcement learning to give humanoid platforms more natural, adaptive movement; robot foundation models, aimed at building general-purpose autonomy and sim-to-real transfer pipelines so robots trained in simulation can operate reliably in physical environments; and robotics systems integration, which combines sensor stacks such as cameras, LiDAR, and RTK-GNSS with path planning and simulation tooling to support real-world deployment.

GMO AI & Robotics Corporation, the Humanoid Lab's parent, has also moved into commercial humanoid distribution, becoming an authorized Japan distributor for Unitree Robotics, and has explored public-facing applications such as an AI-driven embodiment of GMO's chairman. GMO AIR has also floated Humanoid-as-a-Service (HaaS) staffing concepts and a "Humanoid.shop" retail concept for robot sales, though these commercial activities sit primarily under the broader GMO AIR corporate umbrella rather than the Lab itself.

On the community and talent side, the Humanoid Lab has run public-facing events to build Japan's humanoid robotics ecosystem, including hosting "Humanoid Hack Tokyo 2" in July 2026, a hackathon-style competition focused on disaster-rescue applications for humanoid robots, following an earlier first edition. The lab accepts visit requests from prospective partners and researchers through an online form and maintains a technical blog on the Zenn.dev platform under the handle "gmo_air" where engineers publish updates on their research work.

As part of GMO Internet Group, a large, publicly listed Japanese internet infrastructure and services conglomerate spanning domains, hosting, fintech, and advertising, GMO Humanoid Lab draws on group-level resources and cross-business data, combining internet-scale software expertise with physical robotics development. The lab's specific headcount, detailed funding allocation, and formal certifications have not been publicly disclosed. Its published channels for official updates are its bilingual Japanese/English website, an X account under the handle @GMO_AIR, and a corporate Facebook page, alongside recruitment information hosted on the GMO AI & Robotics Corporation careers page.