Physical AI & robotics news
- · Deployment & production
HAI ROBOTICS surpasses 10,000 cumulative orders for HaiPick Climb
HAI ROBOTICS JAPAN announced that worldwide cumulative orders for its case-handling robot, HaiPick Climb, exceeded 10,000 units as of July 2026.
- · Funding
Gatik Raises $200 Million in Series D Led by QIA and KDT
Gatik AI Inc. announced Aug. 25, 2026, that it raised $200 million in a Series D round. The round was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), with participation from Millennium Management, ARK Invest, Intact Private Capital and others. The company operates dozens of driverless trucks in North America and plans to expand its fleet to thousands over the next several years.
- · Deployment & production
IDS Imaging Adds Nion ToF Sensor to 3D Camera Lineup, Begins Mass Production
IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH announced its industrial ToF camera, Nion, on August 26, 2026, and began mass production. Featuring 1.2-megapixel resolution and integrated depth processing, it provides high-precision 3D data for logistics, automation and robotics. Its IP67-rated housing and PoE support enable use in harsh environments.
- · Funding
Einride Founders Launch Investment Company for Europe
According to Bloomberg, the founders of Swedish electric truck company Einride have launched Navisalma, a company that will invest in European technology startups.
- · Deployment & production
Berkshire Grey Opens Customer Innovation Center in the Netherlands, Strengthening European Expansion
Berkshire Grey opened a customer innovation center in Haarlem, the Netherlands, on June 17, 2026. With deployments at companies including FedEx and Walmart, it is responding to growing demand in Europe.
- · Industry
Sankei Shimbun reports on physical AI research hub opening; six companies, including Tsumura and Yamazen, participate
Sankei Shimbun reported on Aug. 26, 2026, that private consortium J-HRTI opened its research hub in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, to the press to demonstrate humanoid motion learning. The consortium was established in March this year, with six companies, including Tsumura and Yamazen, participating. It also aims to cut costs by sharing development expenses.
- · Industry
Toyota to 'take on the world' with all-around robot development, Nikkei Xtech reports
Nikkei Xtech reported on Aug. 26, 2026, on Toyota Motor's all-around robot development strategy.
- · Deployment & production
Atom opens physical AI development hub in Toyosu
Atom has opened the Atom Physical AI Foundry in Toyosu, Tokyo.
- · Research & technology
Australian Research Team Studies Rescue Cyborg Cockroaches
Researchers at the University of Queensland have announced research into cyborg cockroaches intended to deliver aid to people amid rubble and in confined spaces.
- · Deployment & production
MUSE Begins Deploying ‘Armo’ Store Robot at Foodcellar Market in New York
MUSE announced it has begun deploying its ‘Armo’ store robot at Foodcellar Market in New York.
- · Funding
Figure warns that share transfers require approval
Figure announced July 8 that transfers of its shares or related interests without board approval are invalid and will not be recognized in its records.
- · Product launches
FANUC Launches 5-Axis Integrated Initiative to Improve Machining Productivity
FANUC announced on August 24, 2026, that it would launch the 5-Axis Integrated Initiative, a new effort to support productivity improvements in 5-axis machining.
- · Industry
KDDI launches Market Compass AI service for commercial facilities, cutting market analysis and strategy planning to as little as one day
KDDI has launched KDDI Market Compass, an AI service for commercial facility development. Combining JR West SC Development’s expertise with people-flow data, the service cuts market analysis and strategy planning from about four months to as little as one day. Nikkei xTECH reported the news on Aug. 24, 2026.
- · Industry
NVIDIA Streamlines Cross-Embodiment Locomotion Policy Training With COMPASS Workflow
NVIDIA on Aug. 26, 2026, unveiled COMPASS, an agent-driven workflow for training cross-embodiment locomotion policies from a single-embodiment demonstration. Using Boston Dynamics’ Spot as the reference robot, it trains a specialized policy with residual reinforcement learning on top of the pretrained X-Mobility policy. The workflow supports bundled warehouse scenes and SAGE-10K-generated scenes, and optionally can reconstruct real environments with NVIDIA Omniverse NuRec.
- · Industry
SoftBank Group to Invest an Additional $30 Billion in OpenAI, Bringing Total to $64.6 Billion
SoftBank Group signed an agreement on February 27, 2026, to invest an additional $30 billion in an OpenAI funding round.
- · Industry
DeepMind Executive Discusses Advances in Robotics
Bloomberg reported that a Google DeepMind executive, Parada, discussed advances in robotics.
- · Research & technology
Toyota develops its own approach to end-to-end autonomous driving
Nikkei xTECH reported that Toyota Motor is adopting its own hybrid architecture for end-to-end autonomous driving.
- · Funding
NEC-Backed Fund Invests in U.S. Company Dexmate
NEC Orchestrating Future Fund, which is backed by NEC, announced an investment in U.S. company Dexmate.
- · Industry
Dreame to Offer Up to 70% Off 8 Products, Including Robot Vacuums, at Rakuten Super Sale
Dreame Technology Japan will hold a sale at its official Rakuten Ichiba store from Aug. 28 to Sept. 11, in conjunction with the September 2026 Rakuten Super Sale. Selected products, including robot vacuums, will be discounted by up to 70%, with an additional 5% off coupon available. The L10s Ultra Gen 3 will be 65% off at ¥55,800, and the Aqua10s Roller AE will be 47% off at ¥89,800.
- · Industry
Fuji Keizai Forecasts Humanoid Robot Market to Reach ¥6 Trillion by 2040
Fuji Keizai released the results of a global market study on humanoid robots on August 18, 2026. It forecasts that the market for bipedal models will reach ¥6 trillion in 2040, 92.3 times its 2025 level. The company expects full-scale adoption to begin around 2035.
- · Funding
Galbot raises about 5 billion yuan in three months, including 2.5 billion yuan in latest round
Galbot raised 2.5 billion yuan in a new funding round. It raised more than $300 million at the end of 2025, bringing its total over the past three months to about 5 billion yuan. Its valuation exceeded 20 billion yuan after the previous funding round.
- · Product launches
commissure launches corporate training
commissure Inc. announced the launch of its “Physical AI Training” program for businesses.
- · Research & technology
Forcesteed Robotics, AIST co-author paper on safety of generative AI-powered delivery robots
Forcesteed Robotics and AIST have prepared a paper on identifying and mitigating risks in indoor delivery robots equipped with generative AI, and will present it at The Robotics Society of Japan. The study assumed meal service at a family restaurant and tested the robots in 3D simulations and a mock environment using a physical robot. The presentation will take place Sept. 3, 2026, at Kanazawa University.
- · Industry
Explaining the Difference Between AGVs and AMRs: Industry Analyst’s Observations
automatedwarehouseonline.com reported on Aug. 25, 2026, on industry analysts’ views about the difference between AGVs and AMRs. Analysts noted that AMRs can navigate autonomously, but dynamic route changes may cause congestion. They presented two categories: system-specific and solution-based.
- · Product launches
PTC opens JXC in Tokyo
PTC Japan announced on Aug. 18 that it had opened a new in-office demo center, the Japan Experience Center, in Japan.
- · Research & technology
Turing Achieves Japan’s First Public-Road Autonomous Driving With a VLA Model
Turing announced that it had achieved real-time autonomous driving on public roads using a VLA model for the first time in Japan.
- · Product launches
DAIHEN launches VIVACE mobile robot combining material handling and collaborative robotics
DAIHEN announced Aug. 21, 2026, the market launch of VIVACE, a mobile robot combining a material-handling robot and a collaborative robot. Orders began in July 2026, and the company plans to sell 200 units annually. Described as Japan’s first product of its kind, it automates multiple processes with one unit through guide-free navigation and an automatic tool changer.
- · Industry
Introducing a Small Humanoid From China
WIRED.jp published an article about a 120-centimeter-tall humanoid robot, “Edvard Walczowski,” obtained from China. The article shows it walking through the streets of Poland.
- · Deployment & production
AGIBOT Deploys G2 Robots on Longcheer Technology Tablet Production Line, Announces World’s First Mass-Production Application
AGIBOT announced on April 15, 2026, that it had deployed G2 robots on Longcheer Technology’s tablet production line, calling it the world’s first mass-production application of embodied intelligence. The robots handle 310 units per hour, with a success rate above 99.9%; deployment took 36 hours. The company plans to expand the deployment to 100 units by the third quarter of 2026.
- · Partnerships & M&A
Apptronik Partners With Jabil, Paving the Way for Humanoid Apollo to Help Build Itself
Apptronik announced a pilot partnership with U.S.-based Jabil on Feb. 25, 2025. Apollo will perform tasks such as sorting and moving parts at Jabil’s factories. If its commercial viability is confirmed, Jabil will produce Apollo at its own factories, bringing closer the prospect of humanoid robots manufacturing themselves.