In Japan, the robot isn’t coming for your job; it’s filling the one nobody wants

Driven by labor shortages, Japan is pushing physical AI from pilot projects into real-world deployment.

Nomadic raises $8.4 million to wrangle the data pouring off autonomous vehicles

The company turns footage from robots into structured, searchable datasets with a deep learning model.

Alphabet-owned robotics software company Intrinsic joins Google

Nearly five years after graduating into an independent Alphabet company, Intrinsic is moving under Google’s domain.

Zanskar thinks 1 TW of geothermal power is being overlooked

Zanskar has raised $115 million to find about a dozen geothermal resources that could help power the grid throughout the U.S. West.

Ethernovia raises $90M as investors rush to fund ‘physical AI’

The automotive-focused company is looking to expand its Ethernet-based processors to fields like robotics.

TechCrunch Mobility: ‘Physical AI’ enters the hype machine

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “future of transportation.” 

Inside CES 2026’s “physical AI” takeover

After years of chatbots and image generators, AI is finally leaving the screen. At CES 2026, that shift became impossible to ignore.  The annual tech showcase in Las Vegas was dominated by “physical AI” and robotics, from Bos…

Where VCs think AI startups can win, even with OpenAI in the game

Vanessa Larco, partner at Premise and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI.  Larco, who’s been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we’re about to see a shift in how …

Caterpillar taps Nvidia to bring AI to its construction equipment

Caterpillar is piloting Cat AI, a system of AI agents in one of its excavators built on Nvidia’s physical AI platform.

Nvidia wants to be the Android of generalist robotics 

Nvidia unveiled a full-stack robotics ecosystem at CES 2026, including foundation models, simulation tools, and hardware. It wants to be the default platform for robotics.