Robots to Build iPhones as Foxconn Accelerates AI-Powered Factory Automation
In a bold move that signals the future of manufacturing, Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and Apple's chief iPhone supplier, is gearing up to fully automate its assembly lines using a combination of generative AI and robotics. The announcement was made by Foxconn Chairman Young Liu during his keynote at Computex 2025 in Taipei.
Liu revealed that robots and AI will soon take over most of the manual labour at Foxconn's global factories, significantly reducing the company's reliance on low-wage human workers. 'We thought maybe we could replace every human... We quickly realised we could not,' Liu stated candidly, adding that the goal is not to eliminate humans entirely but to free them from repetitive and low-value tasks.
Foxconn has already seen tangible improvements by incorporating generative AI into production workflows, Liu shared. According to him, AI-backed software now performs around 80 percent of the tasks needed to set up new production lines — a development that is dramatically improving efficiency and cutting setup times.
'AI is already helping resolve production issues quickly and allowing human experts to focus on more complex, value-driven operations,' Liu said. The company's shift to AI-driven workflows marks a turning point in industrial manufacturing, combining what Liu calls 'bots and brains' for smarter factories.
At the core of Foxconn's automation push is its proprietary AI model, FoxBrain. The system integrates Meta's Llama 3 and 4 models with Foxconn's internal operational data to deliver what Liu describes as an 'agentic workflow' tailored to specific factory-floor applications. While the company plans to open-source FoxBrain, no timeline has been provided for its public release.
In parallel, Foxconn is also investing in robotic production with its Foxbot units—about 10,000 of which are manufactured annually to replace human labour. The company had previously reported the automation of 60,000 jobs at one of its plants and had set a target of 30% automation across Chinese factories by 2020.
Foxconn's innovation strategy also includes advanced simulation. Liu shared that the company is using Nvidia's Omniverse to create digital twins of factories before construction begins, allowing AI to simulate and optimise layouts and operational workflows beforehand.
According to Digitimes, Foxconn's three-phase automation plan is already underway in China. The first phase automates dangerous and repetitive jobs. The second focuses on streamlining production and reducing excess machinery. The final phase envisions fully automated factories, where humans are limited to logistics, quality testing, and inspection roles.
Foxconn's major manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou, often dubbed 'iPhone City,' is currently in the second phase of this automation roadmap and is expected to become entirely automated in the coming years.
This shift not only redefines Foxconn's production model but also paints a vivid picture of what the future of manufacturing may look like in an AI-dominated era.
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