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Hexagon Robotics collaborates with Microsoft to advance the field of humanoid robots

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Hexagon Robotics has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft aimed at advancing humanoid robots with a focus on:

  • redefining data-driven, adaptive manufacturing through deep technology collaboration;
  • scaling of physical AI frameworks across imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and multimodal vision-language-action models; and
  • jointly engage customers to deploy AI-driven robotics powered by Microsoft Azure and bring automation from concept to factory floor.

Combining Hexagon Robotics’ expertise in sensor fusion, robotics, and spatial intelligence and Microsoft’s strengths in cloud computing and scalable platforms, including Fabric Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric, Azure IoT Operations, and Azure App Service, the two companies will work together to provide production-ready humanoid solutions for manipulation and inspection use cases, first targeting automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and logistic industries. [Read more…] about Hexagon Robotics collaborates with Microsoft to advance the field of humanoid robots

Mobileye to acquire Mentee Robotics in $900m deal to expand physical AI ambitions

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Mobileye has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mentee Robotics, an AI-first humanoid robotics startup, in a transaction valued at $900 million, as the company moves to broaden its focus beyond autonomous driving into what it describes as “physical artificial intelligence”.

Under the terms of the deal, the consideration will comprise approximately $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million shares of Mobileye Class A common stock, subject to certain adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending customary conditions.

Mobileye said the acquisition brings together its autonomy stack and automotive-grade production experience with Mentee’s vertically integrated humanoid robot platform and AI talent. [Read more…] about Mobileye to acquire Mentee Robotics in $900m deal to expand physical AI ambitions

Interview with Kardome CEO: Teaching robots to hear like humans

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For much of the past decade, progress in robotics and autonomous systems has been framed largely through vision. Cameras, LiDAR, and computer vision algorithms have dominated discussions around perception, mapping, and situational awareness.

Sound, by contrast, has often been treated as a secondary input – useful for wake words and basic commands, but rarely central to machine intelligence.

Yet hearing is arguably one of the most fundamental senses for understanding the world, particularly when it comes to language and interaction. Humans begin responding to sound before birth, learning rhythm, tone, and voice long before their eyes ever open. [Read more…] about Interview with Kardome CEO: Teaching robots to hear like humans

How robotics is becoming a branch of AI

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For most of the modern industrial era, the hierarchy of automation was simple.

  • Automation meant machines reliably performing fixed routines.
  • Robotics was a sophisticated subset of automation – programmable machinery with sensors, motors and a defined task.
  • Artificial intelligence was something entirely separate: a software discipline concerned with logic, reasoning and learning.

But the boundaries that made sense for the last 50 years no longer describe the technologies emerging now. Robots are beginning to perceive, classify, and adapt. AI systems are leaving screens and entering machines. And a new phrase – physical AI – is gaining ground as researchers try to explain what happens when intelligence takes a physical form. [Read more…] about How robotics is becoming a branch of AI

EY launches physical AI platform and opens new EY.ai Lab with Nvidia support

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EY has unveiled a new physical AI platform developed with Nvidia technologies, opened a dedicated EY.ai Lab in Georgia, and appointed its first EY global physical AI leader, marking a major expansion of the firm’s robotics and automation strategy.

The company says the new platform is designed to give enterprises a structured way to implement and manage “an AI system executed by robots, drones, smart-edge devices and more.”

Built using Nvidia Omniverse libraries, Nvidia Isaac and Nvidia AI Enterprise, the system supports digital twins, robotics simulation and advanced AI workloads across industrial, energy, consumer and health sectors. [Read more…] about EY launches physical AI platform and opens new EY.ai Lab with Nvidia support

SoftBank and Yaskawa partner to advance ‘Physical AI’ robots for office environments

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SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop “Physical AI” and deploy what the companies describe as a new class of robots that combine advanced decision-making with flexible, multi-purpose physical capabilities.

The collaboration brings together SoftBank’s AI-RAN initiative and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) platform with Yaskawa Electric’s robotics and motion-control technologies.

According to the press release, the companies aim to accelerate the “social implementation” of Physical AI as Japan faces labour shortages, demographic pressures, and increasingly complex business operations. [Read more…] about SoftBank and Yaskawa partner to advance ‘Physical AI’ robots for office environments

Archetype AI raises $35 million to scale deployment of ‘physical agents’ to solve real-world problems

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Archetype AI, a company developing physical AI, has raised $35 million in Series A funding led by IAG Capital Partners and Hitachi Ventures, with participation from new and existing investors including Bezos Expeditions, Venrock, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Samsung Ventures, Systemiq Capital, E12 Ventures, Higher Life Ventures, and others.

Archetype AI is also introducing new tools to build and deploy “Physical Agents” that sense, understand, and act in real-world environments.

“Archetype AI is refining and defining the full stack of Physical AI, creating scalable solutions that operate in the real world, not just on screens or in simulations,” said Dennis Sacha, founding partner at IAG Capital Partners. [Read more…] about Archetype AI raises $35 million to scale deployment of ‘physical agents’ to solve real-world problems

Brightpick achieves ‘lights-out’ order fulfillment with its Autopicker robots

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Brightpick, a provider of AI-powered robotic automation for warehouses, says its Autopicker robots now enable “lights-out” overnight fulfillment.

With the company’s latest software upgrades to its fleet, including Physical AI and picking-in-motion, Autopicker robots can autonomously pick and buffer orders without human intervention, eliminating the need for overnight staffing and enabling companies to extend their operating hours at no additional cost.

This breakthrough allows warehouses to run continuously, even during night shifts and weekends, without human intervention. [Read more…] about Brightpick achieves ‘lights-out’ order fulfillment with its Autopicker robots

Agile Robots launches its first humanoid robot for industry

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Agile Robots, a developer of intelligent robotic solutions, is launching its first humanoid robot. Agile ONE is designed for use in industrial settings, where it will work “safely and efficiently alongside humans and other robotic solutions”, says the company.

The humanoid combines intuitive human-robot interaction, the world’s most dexterous robotic hand, and an innovative AI model trained on real-world industrial data. It will be manufactured in-house in Germany.

CEO and founder Dr Zhaopeng Chen said: “At Agile Robots we believe the next industrial revolution is Physical AI: intelligent, autonomous and flexible robots that can perceive, understand and act in the physical world. Agile ONE embodies this revolution.” [Read more…] about Agile Robots launches its first humanoid robot for industry

Mimic Robotics raises $16 million to deploy ‘frontier physical AI’ across industries

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Mimic Robotics, a Zurich-based startup which prefers lower-case m, has raised $16 million in funding led by Elaia, alongside Speedinvest, to deploy its “frontier physical AI” across industries, enabling robots to handle complex, dexterous tasks that conventional machines cannot.

This heavily oversubscribed seed round also included participation from Founderful, 1st kind, 10X Founders, 2100 Ventures and Sequoia Scout Fund, bringing mimic’s total funding to over $20 million.

The new capital will accelerate the development of mimic’s foundation AI model and humanoid robotic hands, and advance deployments with leading global industry players. [Read more…] about Mimic Robotics raises $16 million to deploy ‘frontier physical AI’ across industries