NVIDIA has taken a significant step in advancing physical AI by directly investing in the Taiwanese startup – MetAI, which recently completed a US$4 million seed funding round. This marks NVIDIA’s first direct investment in a Taiwan-based startup.
Founded in January 2023, MetAI joined the NVIDIA Inception Program in June of the same year. The seed round also saw participation from major automation equipment manufacturer Kenmec Mechanical Engineering and distributor Solomon Technology. Kenmec reportedly invested NT$48 million, while Solomon has declined to comment on the investment.
MetAI specializes in generative AI algorithms that integrate AI and 3D technologies to create intelligent solutions tailored for smart manufacturing, smart logistics, and industrial digital transformation.
At COMPUTEX Taipei 2024, MetAI collaborated with partners including Kenmec and Solomon to showcase its innovative real-time 3D generative simulation for smart logistics. The technology enables the automatic generation of physically accurate synthetic data and digital twin environments within minutes—helping industries overcome challenges of data scarcity and integration in smart manufacturing and logistics, accelerating the realization of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Metaverse.
Through its proprietary generative AI models, MetAI has brought to life Kenmec’s smart logistics centers—featuring autonomous robots, mobile robots, and vision AI systems—on the NVIDIA Omniverse platform. By integrating automation solutions from Kenmec, Solomon, and Coretronic, the company has built a new digital twin simulation environment for smart logistics applications.
MetAI’s technology allows for the rapid, automated creation of fully simulated virtual environments. By simply inputting 2D layout plans or CAD files along with custom parameters, users can automatically generate simulated objects in correct spatial configurations—creating digital twins of warehouse and logistics systems with realistic physical properties.
Kenmec General Manager, Mr. Ko Chih-Chun, stated that humanoid robots are expected to mature within the next three to five years, and Kenmec aims to play a key role in that market. The company has also established a dedicated robotics team within its Intelligent Handling Division to further strengthen its capabilities in this emerging field.
