GITAI’s Lunar base construction demonstration. Photo: GITAI

Japanese space robotics startup GITAI raised $15 million in a Series B extension round to expand the company’s business in the U.S. and partially fund a lunar surface tech demonstration. This expands the previously announced Series B funding to a total of $45 million. 

GITAI raised funds through a third-party allotment from Green Co-Invest Investment Limited Partnership; Pacific Bays Capital; Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital Co., along with a loan from MUFG Bank. 

Last year, GITAI opened a U.S. office in Torrance, California. The company is focused on building robots that can perform labor in space on the Moon and Mars. Earlier this year, it demonstrated its rover and robotic arm in a simulated lunar environment in a desert, showing the ability to excavate, install solar panels, and weld a panel.