RLWRLD Joins Upstage Consortium for Robotics AI Validation

SEOUL, South Korea — RLWRLD, a physical AI startup, has joined a consortium led by Upstage as part of South Korea's Sovereign AI Foundation Model initiative, the company said Monday.

RLWRLD is tasked with defining technical requirements for vision-language models (VLM) in robot control applications and coordinating their integration with robotics foundation models (RFM).

The consortium has identified the hotel, logistics, and retail sectors as initial areas for feasibility assessment.

RLWRLD's responsibilities include designing RFM verification scenarios and testing protocols for the industrial deployment of Upstage's models.

Initial activities will focus on on-site application reviews. Protocol design will address experimental standardization, reproducibility metrics, and client documentation.

Founded in 2024, RLWRLD develops a robotics foundation model, RLDX, for manual task applications.

The company operates a data pipeline using cameras and tactile sensors in manufacturing and logistics settings, and maintains offices in South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

A proprietary model release is planned for the first half of 2026, according to the company.

RLWRLD is conducting pilot projects with unidentified corporate partners in South Korea and Japan.

RLWRLD received a top award in the Foundation Models category at the Nebius Robotics & Physical AI Awards. Further details on the award have not been disclosed.