source: techcrunch ai: agility robotics plants its flag in tesla’s backyard
level: business
agility robotics is opening a 60,000-square-foot facility in fremont, california, to train its digit humanoid robots. the site is near the factory where tesla plans to start making its optimus robots this year. agility already has a working robot that brings in money. digit moves totes and bins in warehouses for customers like amazon, gxo, schaeffler, and toyota. the company says it has $300 million in contract orders.
ceo peggy johnson says it is good to have tesla nearby because agility was alone in the humanoid space for a long time. the company has learned how to meet safety rules, plug into it systems, and connect to warehouse management software. agility is going public through a reverse merger later this year. it was founded in 2015 by researchers who made robots walk safely on two legs. the company uses a practical approach to autonomy, keeping safety systems separate from generative ai.
co-founder damion shelton says generative ai helps scale robot tasks because there are more possible jobs than engineers to program them. the new facility will let digit learn skills in settings like real work sites. over 30 customers are talking with agility about using digit. the company does not plan to make home robots soon. version 5 of digit, expected this fall, will sense humans and not need a robot-only zone. co-founder jonathan hurst says focusing on bins, totes, picking, and loading could lead to 100 million robots and a trillion-dollar company.
why it matters: agility's practical, safety-focused approach and real-world deployments show how humanoid robots can start solving labor tasks in logistics and manufacturing today.
source: techcrunch ai: agility robotics plants its flag in tesla’s backyard