Is Robotics Nearing Its Windows Moment?
The article discusses whether robotics is nearing a 'Windows moment' where the biggest fortunes will be made by companies building the AI 'brains' of robots rather than their physical bodies. According to the International Federation of Robotics, there are 4.7 million industrial robots operating worldwide, with 542,000 new installations in 2024.
The robotics industry is potentially on the cusp of a significant shift, driven by advancements in AI models that enable robots to operate in unpredictable environments. With 4.7 million industrial robots already in operation worldwide, the introduction of vision-language-action models could allow robots to move beyond fixed automation and reason through tasks. This new generation of 'brains' for robots could make the industry more of a platform story than a hardware one. Historically, when technology markets move towards platform models, the real money often ends up with companies supplying the core technology. In the case of robotics, this could mean that companies building the AI systems that power robots become more significant than those building the robots themselves. The International Federation of Robotics reported 542,000 new robot installations in 2024, marking the fourth straight year of installations topping half a million. As the industry evolves, the focus may shift from the robots' physical bodies to their intelligence.
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