경제 알려주는 고양이 examines Rainbow Robotics’ rise from KAIST’s HUBO project to Samsung’s largest-shareholder deal, tracing the company’s robotics, component manufacturing and business challenges.
KAIST professor Oh Jun-ho began humanoid research after seeing Honda’s ASIMO in 2000, using pooled funds of about 50 million won. HUBO developed from a headless prototype into a bipedal robot with independently moving fingers, and Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 after eight robots were sold to research institutions. After placing ninth in 2013 qualifiers, HUBO won the 2015 disaster-robot finals in 44 minutes and 28 seconds by using wheels on flat ground and walking on stairs.
Rainbow Robotics struggled to list despite strong technology evaluations, with reviewers asking whether its collaborative robots could work in factories. Its RB series sold for about 17 million won around its 2021 listing, compared with competitors’ 30 to 50 million won. The company made four of five costly core components itself, helping keep its cost ratio near 50% and supporting revenue growth from 5.3 billion won in 2020 to 13.6 billion in 2022.
After Samsung executives heard Rainbow’s industry outlook in 2022, the company chose Samsung over another potential investor. Samsung invested through new and existing shares in 2023, then exercised its call option on December 31, 2024, lifting its stake to 35% and becoming Rainbow’s largest shareholder. Oh Jun-ho later led Samsung’s Future Robot Task Force, while Samsung and Rainbow planned to pair Samsung’s AI work with Rainbow’s robot hardware.
Rainbow’s revenue rose to 34.1 billion won in 2025, and first-half 2026 sales doubled year over year, but operating losses continued. Its RBY1 two-armed mobile robot had sold 130 units and was in use at Samsung semiconductor sites; the company’s next challenge is expanding customers beyond those factories. A July 2026 U.S. rule covering new foreign-made mobile robots delayed planned Rainbow shipments, while the company also faces questions about reducer production and the cost of expansion.
Briefs summarise talks and interviews; timestamps open the video at that moment. Claims in a talk are the speaker's own.
Rick Yoonhyuk Jang, Chief Robotics Officer at Rainbow Robotics, presents the company’s path from humanoids through industrial robots and back toward humanoid platforms at the Humanoids Summit.
A Zoom Vantage presenter discusses South Korea’s robotics landscape, from humanoid systems and research platforms to robots used in industry and public life.
