The Physical AI Conference shaping the future of robotics, autonomous systems and real-world AI deployment lands in Silicon Valley this May, bringing together the engineers, builders and AI pioneers turning intelligence into physical action.  Physical AI Expo North America will take place on May 18–19, 2026 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, uniting global AI innovators, robotics leaders,…

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Insider Brief Hello Robot unveiled Stretch 4, a new open-source mobile manipulation robot platform designed for researchers and developers building physical AI systems for home and human-centered robotics applications. According to the company, the $29,950 robot features omnidirectional mobility, a telescoping arm, multiple 3D lidar sensors, Nvidia Jetson Orin computing hardware and autonomous self-charging capabilities…

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Insider Brief A University of Michigan-led research team has received a $6.2 million grant from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to develop AI systems and autonomous robots designed to help shipbuilders detect construction problems before they cause costly delays. According to the university, the project will develop robotic and AI “co-pilot” systems…

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Insider Brief SAP and robotics software company Cyberwave deployed fully autonomous AI-powered robots inside an active SAP logistics warehouse in St. Leon-Rot, Germany. According to Cyberwave, the robots are autonomously handling box folding, packaging and shipping fulfillment tasks through integration with SAP Logistics Management and SAP’s Embodied AI Service. Cyberwave said its platform combines Vision-Language-Action…

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Insider Brief Humanoid robotics company Persona AI and Under Armour are collaborating on research into protective materials for humanoid robots designed for industrial environments. According to Persona AI, the project will study how performance apparel materials handle heat, friction and repetitive motion as the company develops humanoid robots for welding, manufacturing and hazardous industrial work.…

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Insider Brief Unitree Robotics unveiled a $650,000 piloted mecha platform called the GD01 that can transform from a two-legged humanoid configuration into a four-legged quadruped system. The company released video footage showing the 500-kilogram robot operating both with and without a human pilot while maneuvering through urban environments and traversing obstacles. According to China Daily,…

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Insider Brief A coalition of robotics and automation companies launched a new industry group called Robots for America aimed at accelerating adoption of robotics and physical AI across U.S. manufacturing. The coalition said it was formed following requests from officials tied to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Commerce,…

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Robinhood has filed a confidential registration for RVII, a second publicly traded venture fund that will expand beyond its first fund’s late-stage focus to include early-stage startups. The fundraising target has not yet been set, following RVI’s debut in March which raised several hundred million short of its $1 billion goal but has since more…

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Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has announced a new class of AI called interaction models, designed to process input and generate responses simultaneously rather than sequentially. The approach, known as full-duplex communication, enables the AI to respond mid-conversation in a manner closer to a natural phone call than a turn-based…

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General Motors has laid off more than 600 salaried IT employees — over 10% of its IT workforce — as part of a deliberate restructuring to replace legacy technology expertise with AI-native capabilities. The company confirmed the cuts, which were first reported by Bloomberg, framing them as preparation for the future rather than simple cost reduction. GM is actively…

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