Robotics & Automation News
The latest in robotics and physical automation, with a practical lens on where it changes how work gets done.
Humanoid robots, industrial automation, and manufacturing robotics advances — and what they mean for operations and labor.
Nvidia Launches 'FOX' AI Factory Manager Blueprint for Autonomous Manufacturing
Nvidia has unveiled the Factory Operations Blueprint (FOX), a software reference design that gives manufacturers a centralized AI agent capable of monitoring, coordinating, and optimizing factory operations in real time. Announced at GTC Taipei during Computex, FOX is positioned as a foundation for building autonomous factory management systems. The blueprint follows Nvidia's broader push into physical AI and industrial automation infrastructure.
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Coram Raises $35M to Transform Security Cameras Into AI-Powered Surveillance Platforms
Bay Area startup Coram has raised $35 million in Series B funding to expand its AI-powered physical security platform, which converts standard security cameras into intelligent detection systems. The funding brings Coram's total capital raised to $66 million, and the company aims to become one of the world's largest physical security providers by layering AI analysis on existing camera infrastructure. Coram is one of several startups riding the 'physical AI' wave of bringing AI into real-world sensing and action systems.
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Honeywell Targets $2–4B Industrial Automation Acquisitions in $35B Market
Honeywell announced at its investor day that it is actively targeting acquisitions valued between $2 billion and $4 billion, with industrial automation identified as a primary focus area. The company's Industrial Automation unit president described a roughly $35 billion addressable market with significant M&A opportunity. Honeywell is focusing on automation and mission-critical segments where it sees clear commercial synergies.
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Theker Raises $85M in Europe's Largest-Ever Robotics Series A to Build Reconfigurable Factory Robots
Barcelona-based Theker has closed an $85 million Series A — described as Europe's largest robotics Series A on record — to build factory robots that can handle varied tasks rather than being trained for a single job. Unlike rigid humanoid robots, Theker's systems are designed to be reconfigurable across different manufacturing processes, with Zara-owner Inditex as an early investor. The startup plans to expand across Europe, the U.S., and Asia and grow its headcount to 120 by year end.
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Robotiq Launches IQ, an AI-Enabled Platform to Automate Robotic Workcell Design
Robotiq has announced IQ, a new AI platform that automates the design and integration of robotic workcells by capturing unstructured project data, coordinating engineering workflows, and generating validated designs from customer inputs and historical deployment data. The platform is initially available for palletizing applications and is aimed at system integrators and manufacturing partners. Robotiq says the shift moves workcell engineering from a manual, one-project-at-a-time process to an automated, repeatable workflow.
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Geekplus Deploys 400+ Autonomous Mobile Robots Across Toyota Plants in Japan
Geekplus has completed a deployment of more than 400 autonomous mobile robots across multiple Toyota manufacturing facilities in Japan, responding to labor shortages driven by demographic decline and new truck driver regulations. The deployment automates in-plant logistics and material movement. Toyota's adoption of AMR technology at scale reflects a broader trend of established manufacturers turning to robotics to address structural workforce gaps.
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Nvidia Unveils Open Isaac GR00T Reference Humanoid Robot Platform for Research
Nvidia has announced the Isaac GR00T Reference Humanoid Robot, an open platform designed to accelerate physical AI research with dexterous hands and onboard AI compute running the Isaac GR00T development environment. The platform will support the widely-used Unitree G1 humanoid robot, extending access to a broader research community. The announcement signals Nvidia's deepening push to standardize the software and hardware stack for humanoid robotics.
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Standard Bots Raises $200M Series C at $1B Valuation to Scale U.S.-Made AI Industrial Robots
Standard Bots, maker of AI-native industrial robot arms and humanoids, closed a $200 million Series C led by RoboStrategy at a $1 billion valuation and is expanding its New York manufacturing facility to 70,000 square feet. The company says it is on pace to account for 10% of all new U.S. industrial robot deployments within the next year, serving customers from Fortune 100 companies down to small and mid-size manufacturers. The raise underscores strong demand for American-made robotics alternatives amid supply chain concerns.
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Sharpa Integrates Tactile Robot Hands into Nvidia and Unitree Humanoid Reference Design
Robotics company Sharpa has integrated its Wave tactile robot hands into the Unitree H2 Plus humanoid robot, creating the first dexterous humanoid platform built on Nvidia's Isaac GR00T development framework to include tactile manipulation technology. The reference design combines Sharpa's hands with Unitree hardware, Nvidia onboard computing, and Isaac GR00T simulation and training tools into a validated, deployable platform. The integration is aimed at accelerating skill development for humanoid robots by giving researchers a complete hardware-software stack with touch sensing.
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AI Robots Moving Beyond Factories into Hospitals, Infrastructure, and Quality Control
A new wave of AI-powered robots is expanding from factory floors into hospitals, industrial safety inspections, and quality control roles, according to industry analysts. Advances in computer vision and large language models are enabling robots to handle more unstructured environments that previously required human judgment. Boston Dynamics and other firms are reporting early commercial deployments in real industrial settings rather than just demonstrations.
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China's Humanoid Robot Sector Booms as State Procurement Jumps 45x in One Year
China's state procurement of humanoid robots and related technology surged from 4.7 million yuan in 2023 to 214 million yuan in 2024, a 45-fold increase, as the country accelerates its push to deploy AI-powered robots in manufacturing. Chinese firms are developing humanoid robots aimed at factory tasks, with the government treating the sector as a strategic priority in the global AI race. Industry observers note that while demo videos are impressive, the gap between controlled demonstrations and reliable real-world deployment remains significant.
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China Mass-Produces Humanoid Robots at One Unit Every 30 Minutes
A Chinese factory is now producing humanoid robots at an industrial pace — one unit every 30 minutes — marking a dramatic shift from prototype to mass production. Chinese firms like Unitree have shipped over 5,500 units in 2025 and are targeting 10,000–20,000 in 2026, while companies like AgiBot and UBTECH are also scaling rapidly. Boston Dynamics and Figure in the U.S. are ramping production, but China is leading on volume and cost.
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Boston Dynamics, Figure, and Tesla Ramp Humanoid Robot Deployments in 2026
Multiple humanoid robot companies are scaling from pilot programs to commercial deployment in 2026: Boston Dynamics has begun shipping its electric Atlas units, Figure is producing robots at one per hour from its BotQ factory, and Tesla continues expanding its internal Optimus fleet at Fremont and Giga Texas. Agility Robotics' Digit is actively handling RAV4 materials at a Toyota Canada facility. The sector is transitioning from R&D to real-world industrial work.
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China Achieves Humanoid Robot Mass Production, Building One Every 30 Minutes
A Chinese factory is now producing humanoid robots at an industrial scale, churning out one unit every 30 minutes with a capacity of 10,000 robots per year. This marks a significant shift from prototype and research phases to genuine mass manufacturing, with companies like Unitree shipping over 5,500 units in 2025 and targeting 10,000–20,000 in 2026. China's push signals that humanoid robots are transitioning from viral demos to real-world industrial deployment.
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China Fields 140+ Humanoid Robot Makers as Race for Factory Automation Heats Up
Official Chinese data shows the country now has more than 140 humanoid robot manufacturers producing over 330 distinct models as of 2025, with Beijing explicitly targeting a new industrial revolution powered by AI-driven robotics. Chinese humanoid robots have made headlines for crossing new skill thresholds — including live fabric stitching on stage — previously considered uniquely human. The development is fueling a global race among manufacturers, investors, and governments.
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Dexterity Launches 'Mech' — First Industrial Super-Humanoid Robot for Warehouses
Robotics company Dexterity has unveiled Mech, a two-armed mobile humanoid robot designed specifically for logistics and manufacturing environments. The robot runs hundreds of AI models on an onboard supercomputer and uses 16 cameras to identify objects and decide how to pack, palletize, and load them — including handling fragile packages with a built-in sense of touch. Mech targets the repetitive and physically demanding tasks that have resisted automation until now.
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China's Humanoid Robot Industry Scales Up With 140+ Manufacturers and Factory Deployments
China had more than 140 humanoid robot manufacturers and over 330 models in 2025, with Beijing actively pushing to deploy AI-powered humanoid robots across manufacturing facilities as part of a new industrial revolution strategy. Advances in generative AI are acting as the 'brain' driving robots from companies like Agility Robotics, Tesla, Boston Dynamics, and Chinese competitors to reason and adapt in real environments. The gap between viral demos and actual workplace deployment is narrowing, though cost, reliability, and use-case specificity remain barriers.
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