Bengaluru-based Ati Robotics, funded mostly by Silicon Valley investors (it has raised $37 million already), is planning to set up a plant in Michigan to manufacture physical AI-powered robots for the US market sometime early next year.
Reliance Retail Ventures, which picked up around 55 per cent stake in startup Addverb Technologies, is already testing out its physical AI robot prototypes for industrial as well as defence usage, and is readying it for commercial launch. Then, Gurugram-based Novus High-Tech Robotic is working on its own humanoids and quadrupeds for various industrial usage. These robots, with their core software entirely “made in India”, will be deployed in pilots very soon.
Physical AI-powered robots use advanced intelligence to perceive, reason, and act in the real world. These smart machines are ready to transform the robotics industry. By fusing machine-learning with real-time sensor data, they seamlessly adapt to highly dynamic and unpredictable environments. They are far more advanced than traditional robots, which rely on rigid coded rules to repeat narrow, limited tasks.
Saurabh Chandra, founder of Ati Robotics, says: “We are launching an industrial humanoid, which will, without any teleoperations, do a few tasks, like picking up and moving 25 kg bins carrying components, etc. within the factory. We hope to start production next summer, and set up a plant in Michigan to cater to the US market. We will be raising fresh funds for it in Silicon Valley.”
Chandra says the new offering provides much greater flexibility than traditional robots. Unlike older systems that require fixed bin sizes, exact placement in designated zones, functional QR codes for recognition, and undamaged containers, the new offering can negotiate the changes in the physical environment.
Sangeet Kumar, chief executive officer (CEO) of Addverb, says that they have been working on physical AI robots for over three years now. “Currently we are using an open AI platform to train the physical AI robots with 1,000 hours of data every week, which we plan to move up to 5,000 hours a week. We are concentrating on two markets, industrial and defence. We are also taking feedback on the robots from key clients and hope for commercial launch soon.”
Kumar adds that they already have subsidiaries in the US, Europe, Australia, and Singapore where they will focus on for exports.
So, what makes the market so interesting for India? One clear reason is that many countries are looking at a “China plus one” strategy and are seeking an “alternative” trusted supplier. Here, India can fit the bill despite higher costs. Two, says Novus Hi-Tech founder Anuj Kapuria, it’s a new market and China might be ahead but does not dominate it like it does in drones or electric vehicle (EV) batteries. It is simply too early for anyone to have a durable lead.
Kapuria says that while they do import hardware, because the global supply chain resides in China, the real value lies in software. “At the core of everything we build is our own physical AI platform — the perception, navigation, and decision-making software that is built entirely in India,” he adds.
Other players are also reducing their dependence on Chinese imports of components through localisation. Chandra says they already make actuators — the heart of the robot — in their factory in India. Actuators account for over 50 per cent of the bill of materials.
Addverb has already started the process for manufacturing LiDAR sensors as well as actuators, which are required for defence.
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