2025 Grocery Industry Icons & Innovators

Yasutaka built his career in global finance and strategy before moving into robotics. At robotics pioneer ZMP, he led the creation of the logistics robot CarriRo from concept to mass production, achieving deployment in more than 300 companies. In 2022, he founded MUSE to address urgent retail challenges such as labor shortages, on shelf availability and operational efficiency. With a proven record of turning advanced technology into scalable solutions, he shows how automation can work alongside store teams all day to deliver measurable results and strong returns.

MUSE develops store robots that deliver exceptional cost performance by working all day across multiple tasks. A single robot can support online order picking for e grocery, help restock shelves, assist with in store promotions and more. This flexibility makes it one of the most productive automation solutions available for retail. The technology is already spreading rapidly across Japan’s retail industry and is now being introduced to the United States. MUSE robots integrate seamlessly into daily operations, helping retailers cut costs, free up store staff from repetitive tasks so they can focus on higher value and more creative work, improve productivity and enhance the customer shopping experience.