Fujitsu, Yaskawa and Kawasaki Partner with Nvidia to Develop Physical AI Robots

Fujitsu, Yaskawa Electric Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced a collaboration with Nvidia Corp. to develop physical AI robots that can operate independently in factories, homes and hospitals.

The announcement took place in Tokyo on Thursday. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, Fujitsu Chief Executive Takahito Tokita and the chief executive of Fanuc Corp. participated. The initiative builds on a prior agreement between Nvidia and Fujitsu announced last year.

Executives said the robots could help address Japan's labor shortage stemming from rapid population aging and could assist elderly people living alone. Huang said physical AI was a good fit for Japan because of the country's reputation for manufacturing quality. “Japan’s excellence is a philosophy, a way of life.

‘Made in Japan’ means the highest quality, the highest precision. Japan sets the standard for the state-of-the-art in modern manufacturing,” he said. The first phase of the collaboration is scheduled for later this year.

The companies have not set a timeline for wider deployment and have not decided whether to form a joint venture. The Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, recently announced plans to attract more than 370 trillion yen in public and private investment in technology fields including physical AI by 2040.