燈, an AI startup founded at the University of Tokyo, has begun participating in the management of Akita-based アスター through a capital alliance and will provide funding and personnel by subscribing to a third-party allotment of new shares. The companies aim to build a new model for manufacturing “physical AI” by combining AI with the use of shop-floor data.
燈株式会社 entered into a capital and business alliance agreement with アスター in Yokote, Akita Prefecture, in August 2026. 燈 will subscribe to a third-party allotment of new shares conducted by アスター and participate in its management. The alliance goes beyond providing funding, aiming to combine アスター’s motor and power-unit development capabilities, including ASTERCOIL, with 燈’s AI technology.
The alliance aims to establish a domestic design, mass-production and supply base for next-generation hardware and create physical AI by combining AI with shop-floor data. 燈 aims to optimize factory manufacturing operations through the accumulation of shop-floor data and autonomous learning, ultimately establishing a cycle for integrating and applying these capabilities to physical machines.
The alliance is driven by the potential for combining アスター’s proprietary technologies, including ASTERCOIL, with 燈’s physical AI to enable both the use of shop-floor data and highly efficient mass production. The companies will develop mass-production facilities for next-generation motors centered in Yokote, Akita, with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of Japan’s manufacturing industry through the use of AI.