Latest news with #AgilityRobotics
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Robot That Takes Tasks, Not Jobs
Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson sees opportunity in an American labor shortage. The company's humanoid robots have already been put to work commercially. Johnson doesn't think they'll displace human workers, she tells Forbes, but rather make them more productive. Peggy Johnson has forged a unique 'over 50' career: She was Satya Nadella's first hire when he took over Microsoft in 2014 and, from 2020 until last year, she ran augmented reality company Magic Leap. Today, Johnson helms Agility Robotics (total funding: $180 million to-date), which makes human-like robots to work in America's warehouses. 'In the logistics area alone, there are over a million jobs that are going unfilled,' she says. 'It makes sense to put a humanoid robot into these spots.'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Story OfThe First Commercially Deployed Humanoid
Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson sees opportunity in an American labor shortage. The company's humanoid robots have already been put to work commercially. Johnson doesn't think they'll displace human workers, she tells Forbes, but rather make them more productive. Peggy Johnson has forged a unique 'over 50' career: She was Satya Nadella's first hire when he took over Microsoft in 2014 and, from 2020 until last year, she ran augmented reality company Magic Leap. Today, Johnson helms Agility Robotics (total funding: $180 million to-date), which makes human-like robots to work in America's warehouses. 'In the logistics area alone, there are over a million jobs that are going unfilled,' she says. 'It makes sense to put a humanoid robot into these spots.'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Robot That's Building Better Career Paths for Workers
Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson sees opportunity in an American labor shortage. The company's humanoid robots have already been put to work commercially. Johnson doesn't think they'll displace human workers, she tells Forbes, but rather make them more productive. Peggy Johnson has forged a unique 'over 50' career: She was Satya Nadella's first hire when he took over Microsoft in 2014 and, from 2020 until last year, she ran augmented reality company Magic Leap. Today, Johnson helms Agility Robotics (total funding: $180 million to-date), which makes human-like robots to work in America's warehouses. 'In the logistics area alone, there are over a million jobs that are going unfilled,' she says. 'It makes sense to put a humanoid robot into these spots.'
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Humanoid Robots Need to Avoid Chinese Domination
Several US makers of humanoid robots designed for general purposes are testing them in real-life settings, improving them and preparing for mass production. As this technology progresses and begins to populate factory and warehouse floors, authorities should make sure the US doesn't make the same mistakes it did with the drone industry. Producers of these machines, such as Agility Robotics, Apptronik and Tesla Inc., are at about the same stage as drones were about 15 years ago. Drones were being built and tested, and people were trying to figure out the use cases, when the industry was blown away in 2013 by the Phantom 2 Vision drone made by a Chinese company known as DJI. This drone came with a built-in camera, a ready-to-fly ease of operation, and a low price. While DJI's drones were sweeping the US market, it wasn't yet clear that they would become essential on the battlefield, and the alarm had not sounded over China's aggressive military buildup. These concerns became crystalized after Russia invaded Ukraine and China backed Russia; a pandemic originating in China swept the globe, exposing US dependence on Chinese goods; a Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the US symbolized a nation emboldened by a massive military expansion; and a tariff war tipped China's hand that it would use the supply chain as a cudgel in areas such as rare-earth products.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Meet the nine private humanoid robot firms shaping the future
The humanoid robot arms race is on, and it's not just Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) making noise with its Optimus humanoid—the real action is happening among a new generation of private players, each betting big on a future where humanoids are everywhere from factory floors to your living room, according to UBS analysts. "Understanding what these private companies are working on and tracking their progress can help inform investors about the future/feasibility of the humanoid robot opportunity and use cases such as more plant automation,' UBS analysts said in a recent note, pointing to a wave of start-ups already landing deals with auto giants like BMW (ETR:BMWG) and Mercedes. Figure AI, founded in 2022, is going all-in on autonomous humanoids for manufacturing, logistics, and retail. Figure's BotQ facility can crank out up to 12,000 robots a year, and the company is already using its own robots to build more robots. After a $1.5 billion Series C in May 2025, Figure's valuation soared to $39.5 billion, with its first commercial deal inked with BMW and a second, undisclosed 'major US company' already signed. Between these two customers, Figure believes there's a path to 100,000 robots over the next four years. Agility Robotics, meanwhile, is already deploying its Digit robots in logistics and manufacturing, targeting the more than one million unfilled material handling jobs in the U.S. With partnerships ranging from GXO Logistics Inc (NYSE:GXO) and Schaeffler to Tompkins (NYSE:TMP) Solutions, Agility is scaling up quickly, pushing robots-as-a-service deals and using its Agility Arc platform to control robots in tandem with other equipment. The company recently upgraded Digit's battery life and safety features, and a minority investment from Schaeffler signals growing industry confidence. Collaborative Robotics, or Cobot, is taking a different approach, focusing on AI-driven collaborative robots that work shoulder-to-shoulder with people in shared workspaces such as warehouses, hospitals, and factories. Since their 2024 debut, Cobot's Proxie robots have logged over 5,000 operational hours and moved 16,000 carts in customer facilities. The company is developing cobots that integrate large language models, voice recognition, and speech synthesis to enable dynamic, human-like interaction on the job Apptronik, with roots in NASA, has built Apollo, a robot designed for heavy lifting in manufacturing, logistics, and even healthcare. Commercial deployments began with Mercedes-Benz (OTC:MBGAF) in 2024, and new partnerships with Jabil and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) DeepMind are helping scale both production and AI capabilities. Apollo is built to perform physically demanding tasks in industrial spaces, working right alongside humans 1X Technologies is targeting the home, planning large-scale deployment of its Neo humanoid in the U.S. in 2025. The company's acquisition of Kind Humanoid is accelerating its tech development, and 1X is backed by EQT (ST:EQTAB) Ventures. Their focus is on creating an abundant supply of labor via safe, intelligent humanoids, scaling from research and development to full-scale manufacturing The next wave of contenders is equally ambitious. Mentee Robotics is building robots that can be 'mentored' in real time by humans, aiming for personalized, adaptive bots. Skild AI is all about general-purpose robotic intelligence, boasting a $4.7 billion valuation and backing from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and SoftBank (TYO:9984), with its sights set on construction, manufacturing, and security robots. Foundation Robotics Labs is shipping robots for manufacturing, logistics, domestic, and defense use, with a goal of delivering over 10,000 units in 2026. Plus One Robotics, meanwhile, is the parcel-handling specialist, with over one billion picks and AI-powered warehouse automation already saving customers millions in labor costs. While Tesla may be the face of the humanoid-enabled robot future, UBS suggest the real battleground is among these private upstarts—each racing toward a multi-billion-dollar reality, one robot at a time. Related articles Meet the nine private humanoid robot firms shaping the future Tesla plans $8 billion U.S. investment this fiscal year stocks of the week Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
