Physical AI & robotics news
- · Industry
Galbot records more than 100 consecutive rallies in autonomous humanoid tennis
Beijing-based Galbot held an autonomous humanoid tennis match at the opening ceremony of the second World Humanoid Robot Games on Aug. 23, 2026, PR Newswire reported. The robots recorded more than 100 consecutive rallies, according to the announcement. The announcement was made by Beijing-based Galbot Co., Ltd.
- · Industry
36Kr Publishes Article Asking Which Humanoid Company Will Follow Unitree
36Kr published an article about which company will follow Unitree. This article does not restate the source article’s argument or figures. We consider the basis for comparison in light of our subsequent coverage of Unitree.
- · Product launches
LG to Develop Next-Generation Humanoid Powered by NVIDIA Isaac GR00T
LG announced Aug. 13, 2026, that it will develop a bipedal humanoid using NVIDIA’s Isaac GR00T foundation model and unveil it in the first quarter of 2027.
- · Deployment & production
CATL and Galbot Form Global Strategic Partnership, Deploy Heavy-Duty Galbot S1 Humanoid Robot at CATL Factory
On June 24, 2026, CATL and Galbot announced a global strategic partnership and deployed the Galbot S1, the world’s first mass-produced humanoid robot powered by CATL batteries, on a CATL production line.
- · Partnerships & M&A
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Opens Physical AI Center in San Jose, U.S.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced that it has opened a hub in San Jose, California, aimed at bringing Physical AI into practical use.
- · Partnerships & M&A
Google DeepMind Announces Gemini Robotics ER 2, an Embodied Reasoning Model for Robots
Google DeepMind announced Gemini Robotics ER 2 on July 30, 2026, an embodied reasoning model that serves as a high-level brain for robots.
- · Industry
Boston Dynamics introduces Atlas head design
Boston Dynamics said in a blog post that an employee explained the design of the computing and perception systems inside Atlas’ head.
- · Product launches
mimic robotics unveils M1 robot hand and U1 wearable for general-purpose dexterous manipulation
mimic robotics on July 16, 2026, unveiled the M1 robot hand for industrial automation and the U1 wearable for collecting human demonstrations.
- · Industry
Scale AI Accepts Investment From Meta at Valuation of More Than $29 Billion
Scale AI accepted an investment from Meta, bringing its valuation to more than $29 billion.
- · Research & technology
Dyna Robotics unveils DYNA-2, a robot foundation model trained on 1 million hours of human video
Dyna Robotics announced DYNA-2 on August 10, 2026, a robot foundation model pretrained on 1 million hours of first-person human video.
- · Product launches
Genesis AI Unveils ‘GENE-26.5’ to Give Robots Human-Level Manipulation Capabilities
Genesis AI has unveiled ‘GENE-26.5,’ the first AI foundation model designed to give robots human-level physical manipulation capabilities.
- · Research & technology
DARPA Holds Second OFFSET Field Experiment in June
DARPA announced Aug. 7 that it held the second field experiment for its OFFSET program in June at Fort Benning, Georgia.
- · Policy & regulation
DARPA Announces Lift Challenge
DARPA announced the Lift Challenge, seeking new drone designs capable of carrying a payload more than four times their own weight.
- · Research & technology
DARPA: 12 Teams Qualify for Subterranean Challenge Final
DARPA announced on July 14, 2021, that 12 teams qualified for the final event of the Subterranean Challenge virtual competition.
- · Industry
UK’s Humanoid unveils new bipedal robot
UK robotics company Humanoid announced on Dec. 2 that it had unveiled the bipedal robot “HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal.”
AMD unveils 6th-generation EPYC, Instinct MI400 series at Advancing AI 2026
AMD announced its portfolio for AI infrastructure and physical AI on July 23, 2026.
- · Product launches
Ambi Robotics Adds AI Skill Suite to AmbiOS Physical AI Platform
Ambi Robotics expanded its AmbiOS physical AI platform and announced an AI skill suite.
- · Deployment & production
UBTECH and Siemens Announce Strategic Partnership
UBTECH said it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Siemens Digital Industries Software to advance preparations for mass production of industrial humanoid robots.
- · Deployment & production
Humanoid Raises $152 Million
British robotics company Humanoid announced it raised $152 million in a Series A round, valuing the company at $1.35 billion.
- · Product launches
Path Robotics Announces Rove, a Mobile Welding Robot Powered by Physical AI
Path Robotics announced Rove, a mobile welding automation robot powered by physical AI, on April 16, 2026, Business Wire reported.
- · Partnerships & M&A
Hitachi and Intel announce strategic partnership to drive AI transformation
Hitachi Ltd. and Intel announced a strategic partnership to advance physical AI and next-generation digital infrastructure.
- · Product launches
AGIBOT and ASIX Showcase Latest Humanoid at Jakarta Cultural Event
On May 21, 2026, AGIBOT and local partner ASIX jointly exhibited the company’s latest humanoid robot at a cultural event in Jakarta, Indonesia. The robot hosted the event and demonstrated calligraphy and dance, while the companies also explore deployments in productivity-focused areas such as production lines and logistics. AGIBOT said its cumulative global production exceeded 10,000 units as of March 2026.
- · Partnerships & M&A
Hexagon Robotics Partners With Microsoft in Humanoid Robotics
Hexagon Robotics announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to advance humanoid robots.
- · Research & technology
Marope: A MARL Framework for Cooperative Long-Rope Jumping by Multiple Humanoids
Marope is a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework for multiple Unitree G1 humanoid robots to cooperate in long-rope jumping. It was evaluated in both simulation and the real world.
- · Partnerships & M&A
HD Hyundai and Persona AI Agree to Introduce Humanoid Welding Robots for Shipbuilding Automation
HD Hyundai and Persona AI are partnering to develop humanoid welding robots for shipbuilding automation, with a prototype due by the end of 2026.
- · Product launches
X Square Robot Demonstrates Embodied AI Robot at Logistics Site
On Aug. 12, 2026, X Square Robot livestreamed a system that automates parcel induction in logistics operations.
- · Industry
Figure Announces Pretraining Project
Figure announced “Project Go-Big: Internet-Scale Humanoid Pretraining and Direct Human-to-Robot Transfer” in an official news post.
- · Partnerships & M&A
ABB Robotics and PSYONIC to Improve Robot Dexterity Using Data From Human Prosthetic Use
ABB Robotics is partnering with PSYONIC to improve robot grasping and dexterity using data from human prosthetic use.
- · Product launches
GENISOM AI debuts fully integrated embodied AI system, including M1 quadruped, at ICRA 2026
GENISOM AI debuted a fully integrated embodied AI system at ICRA 2026.
- · Product launches
LimX Dynamics Raises $200 Million in Series B
Robotics company LimX Dynamics announced that it raised $200 million in a Series B round.