Agile Robots and Hitachi have entered a co-creation partnership to bring Physical AI into real factories, according to a press release published by Agile Robots on 29 September 2026. The stated goal is to develop and commercialise robotic systems that can perceive their environment, interpret it and respond to it with precision and reliability.
The division of roles is clear. Hitachi contributes its Physical AI technology, its system integration capabilities and, according to Agile Robots, more than 110 years of experience in industry and operational technology. Agile Robots brings its robot portfolio: robot arms, mobile robots and its Agile ONE humanoid, all running on its AgileCore software platform for simulation, control and orchestration.
The problem: variation that conventional factory automation struggles with
Factories have been automating for decades, yet many tasks are still done by hand: handling parts, loading machines, assembly, switching a line over to a new product, moving materials between processes. These operations involve variation, and conventional automation copes with it poorly. A robot programmed for one part in one position struggles as soon as the part or the position changes. Agile Robots presents Physical AI as an answer to this rigidity: a robot that adjusts when conditions change instead of repeating a fixed sequence.
What Hitachi and Agile Robots plan to build
The press release sets out three areas of work:
- Physical AI capabilities. Combining Hitachi’s technology and operational know-how with Agile Robots’ robots and software.
- Onboard AI chips. Integrating Hitachi’s edge AI semiconductors into the robots to process perception data quickly.
- Deployment. Bringing these products to market and into production. Hitachi will offer them through HMAX Industry, its portfolio of industrial AI solutions, and Agile Robots will offer them to its own customers.
In the longer term, the two companies aim to coordinate entire operations, with multiple robots, machines and people working together. This is a stated ambition, not a deployment that has been observed.
What the Hitachi and Agile Robots executives say
Zhaopeng Chen, founder and CEO of Agile Robots, sums up what is at stake: Physical AI will only transform industry if it works reliably in factories and at scale. He highlights his company’s robotic solutions, from arms and mobile robots to the Agile ONE humanoid, which he describes as already proven in industrial operations.
Yoshimitsu Takagi, Vice President and Executive Officer, CEO of the Industrial Solutions Business Unit in the Connective Industries sector of Hitachi, Ltd., calls the partnership an important step in accelerating Hitachi’s Physical AI business. He refers to deploying Physical AI that goes beyond intelligent robots and also targets the autonomous operation of entire factories.