Ken Kutaragi, the legendary inventor of the PlayStation gaming console, is taking on one of the hardest jobs in robotics — and he is getting paid nothing to do it.
The founder of Sony Corp’s gaming business is the new CEO of Ascent Robotics Inc, a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up.
Kutaragi, 70, wants to make affordable robots that can safely move around and do physical work alongside humans in factories and logistics centers, and aims to have a working prototype in about a year.
Photo: Bloomberg
He receives no salary to save precious capital, he said.
“The COVID-19 outbreak has turned the old argument about robots taking our jobs on its head,” Kutaragi said in his first interview since taking the helm in August. “It’s pretty clear now that if we want to arrive at a new normal, we need more and more robots in our daily lives.”
The industry veteran is vague about how he plans to accomplish this, other than to say that partnerships would be key to moving forward.
Ascent has worked with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd on a robotic arm that can pick parts out of a jumble using a single camera as input.
It is also developing autonomous driving software in collaboration with an unnamed Japanese automaker. The company uses a combination of data from sensor-studded Lexus hybrids cruising Tokyo’s streets and simulations where the algorithms are trained to handle so-called edge-case scenarios.
The challenge is that he is trying to combine two technologies that have so far overpromised and under-delivered: autonomous driving and collaborative robots.
The biggest industrial automation companies, including Fanuc Corp, ABB Ltd and Kuka AG, have struggled to grow the market for machines that can work alongside humans. At the same time, vehicles that can drive themselves seem to be perennially just over the horizon.
“If you are looking to combine robotics and mobility, you need someone in charge who understands technology,” Kutaragi said. “We are thinking globally, not limiting our sights to Japan.”
Kutaragi has a track record of solving difficult technical and business problems. He started his career at Sony in the 70s, working on some of the electronics giant’s most successful projects, including LCDs and digital cameras.
In the 90s, he revolutionized video gaming by pioneering the loss-leader model of spending billions on developing cutting-edge hardware and then recouping costs through content licensing deals.
Kutaragi also demonstrated a keen sense of technology trends, famously shipping the PlayStation 2 with a DVD player and spurring the adoption of the new laser disc technology.
Since leaving Sony in 2007, he has sat on the boards of e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc, app developer SmartNews Inc and GA Technologies, which runs an AI-powered real-estate listings Web site.
Kutaragi has served as Ascent’s outside board director since 2018 and took over as CEO on Aug. 26. He owns about 22 percent of the company, which he acquired from founder Fred Almeida, who has left the start-up.
Masayuki Ishizaki, who preceded Kutaragi as CEO, has become the company’s chief operating officer.
Founded in 2016, Ascent has raised about US$18 million and employs about 50 engineers, most of whom are foreigners. Kutaragi declined to say how much runway the company has left and whether it plans additional financing.
“If we don’t do it, someone else out there will,” Kutaragi said. “Management is tough, but that’s how it was with PlayStation, too. It’s something I’m good at.”
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS