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Mesoware raises $1.5 million funding to build AI-powered robots for manufacturing

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Mesoware has announced $1.5 million to build the next chapter of AI-powered robotics solutions for automated manufacturing. The pre-seed round was led by Pillar VC.

Joe Mattekatt, co-founder and CEO of Mesoware, says: “With hardware costs falling and AI advancing, the final hurdle in robotics is putting it all together at scale.

“Mesoware is that missing link, turning complex robotic integration into plug-and-play solutions that make physical automation accessible to everyone.” [Read more…] about Mesoware raises $1.5 million funding to build AI-powered robots for manufacturing

Nebius and Nvidia launch Physical AI Living Lab for European robotics startups

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Nebius, the AI cloud company, has announced the Physical AI Living Lab, a six-month program that equips British and European robotics startups with Nvidia’s physical AI development tools and Nebius’s AI cloud infrastructure. 

Physical AI depends on large-scale simulation, synthetic data, and accelerated compute that most early-stage robotics companies cannot assemble on their own.

The Physical AI Living Lab removes that barrier, putting the same class of tooling and compute used to build physical AI at scale into the hands of founders, so they can move from simulation to real-world deployment faster. [Read more…] about Nebius and Nvidia launch Physical AI Living Lab for European robotics startups

Q&A: Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas on launching a new airline, expanding its fleet, and the future of air travel

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Three years after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Riyadh Air, the airline is preparing to begin operations with the delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and ambitious plans for rapid expansion.

In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya English aboard one of the airline’s newly delivered aircraft, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas discussed the carrier’s growth plans, upcoming destinations, fleet expansion, onboard technology, customer experience, and the challenges of launching a new airline amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Douglas also outlined Riyadh Air’s goal of serving 22 destinations by March 2027, revealed details about its new in-flight entertainment platform, and explained why the airline believes it can differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive global aviation market. [Read more…] about Q&A: Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas on launching a new airline, expanding its fleet, and the future of air travel

Güdel expands robotic grinding reach with integrated vertical and horizontal motion

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Grinding and surface finishing of fabricated parts is one of the classic 3D (Dull, Dirty, Dangerous) applications that are perfect for robot automation.

Unfortunately, automating the grinding of large fabrications means multiple robots and complex part repositioning, which add significant cost and extended cycle times while introducing new sources of variation in the process.

At Automate 2026, Güdel arrives with a system designed to scale beyond these physical constraints. [Read more…] about Güdel expands robotic grinding reach with integrated vertical and horizontal motion

Festo launches GripperAI software to simplify flexible robot handling

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Festo has introduced GripperAI, an AI-powered software solution that enables robots to handle mixed, unfamiliar and randomly positioned products without the need for extensive programming, template loading or specialist vision integration.

Designed for manufacturers seeking greater flexibility from automated handling systems, GripperAI automatically identifies the optimum gripping point for each item and selects the most appropriate gripper for the task from the end-of-arm tools available.

The software enables robots to adapt to changing product mixes in real time, helping manufacturers deploy and scale automation more efficiently. [Read more…] about Festo launches GripperAI software to simplify flexible robot handling

Wing and Walmart expand drone delivery network to seven new US metro areas

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Drone delivery company Wing and retail giant Walmart are expanding what they describe as the largest residential drone delivery network in the United States, adding seven new metropolitan areas as they work toward a goal of reaching 40 million Americans by 2027.

The expansion will bring drone delivery services to Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City.

The move increases the companies’ planned service footprint to nearly 20 US markets and follows Walmart’s recent announcement that its drone delivery operations had surpassed one million deliveries. [Read more…] about Wing and Walmart expand drone delivery network to seven new US metro areas

Standard Bots reaches $1 billion valuation after raising $200 million Series C

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Standard Bots, which claims to be “America’s largest manufacturer of AI-native, industrial robotics”, has raised $200 million Series C led by existing investors and RoboStrategy.

The fundraise values Standard Bots at $1 billion, marking a major milestone for American robotics at a time when US industry is racing to modernize.

The company is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in New York, increasing its ability to design, assemble, and deploy American-made robots at scale for customers ranging from Fortune 100 companies to hundreds of SMB manufacturers across the country.

This expansion comes at a pivotal moment for US manufacturing. When also counting affiliated suppliers and services, the sector accounts for roughly a third of the US economy and a third of American jobs. [Read more…] about Standard Bots reaches $1 billion valuation after raising $200 million Series C

Simulation tools in the ROS ecosystem: Testing and validating robots virtually

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Robots may operate in the physical world, but increasingly they are born, trained, tested, and refined in virtual ones.

Before a warehouse robot navigates its first aisle, before an autonomous vehicle drives its first mile, and before a humanoid robot takes its first step, there is a good chance it has already spent hundreds or even thousands of hours inside a simulator.

For robotics developers, simulation has become one of the most important tools in the development process. It allows engineers to test software, validate designs, train AI models, and identify failures before expensive hardware is ever powered on. [Read more…] about Simulation tools in the ROS ecosystem: Testing and validating robots virtually

RLWRLD and Nvidia launch DexBench to standardize humanoid robot dexterity

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RLWRLD, a physical AI company, in collaboration with Nvidia has launched an initiative to develop next-generation industry standards for humanoid robot AI.

RLWRLD will focus on three pillars: DexBench, a universal benchmark for evaluating dexterity performance; data standard for dexterous manipulation training; and deep integration with the open Nvidia Isaac Lab and Isaac Lab-Arena frameworks.

Dexterous manipulation – enabling humanoid robots to perform fine-grained tasks such as precision assembly, sorting, and packaging – has emerged as the decisive frontier in humanoid AI development. [Read more…] about RLWRLD and Nvidia launch DexBench to standardize humanoid robot dexterity

TARS brings real-life embodied AI to ICRA 2026 robotics conference

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TARS has capped a landmark appearance at ICRA 2026, IEEE’s international robotics conference, with the international debut of its DexHand platform, drawing significant attention among industrialists and academics.

Dr Ding, TARS’ chief scientist and co-founder, delivered the keynote address in the plenary session.

TARS’ DexHand demonstration showcased all 26 English alphabet sign-language gestures and invited to engage in real-time mirror-control interaction, thus offering live proof of the system’s biomimetic fidelity and low-latency responsiveness. [Read more…] about TARS brings real-life embodied AI to ICRA 2026 robotics conference