Fanuc Bets on Physical AI and US Manufacturing With Nvidia Partnership and $90 Million Michigan Expansion
Fanuc is integrating Nvidia's simulation and inference platforms across its industrial robot portfolio while committing $90 million to a new 840,000-square-foot Michigan facility, positioning the world's largest robot maker to meet surging North American demand for AI-driven factory automation.
Fanuc, the world’s largest manufacturer of industrial robots, is making a two-pronged push to embed artificial intelligence across its product line and expand its domestic production capacity. The Japanese automation giant announced a collaboration with Nvidia to integrate physical AI technologies into robots spanning payloads from 3 kilograms to 2.3 tons, while separately committing 90 million dollars to build a new 840,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Michigan.
Nvidia’s Simulation and Inference Stack Enters the Factory Floor
Under the partnership, Fanuc is incorporating Nvidia Jetson edge modules, the Nvidia Isaac Sim open-source robotic simulation framework, and Nvidia Omniverse digital twin libraries into its existing RoboGuide simulation software. The integration enables manufacturers to build photorealistic digital twins of factory environments, train robots virtually, and deploy validated configurations to physical hardware with minimal additional tuning.
Fanuc is also releasing a standardized ROS 2 driver with Python support across its entire robot portfolio, lowering the barrier for third-party developers and researchers to build on Fanuc hardware. New capabilities demonstrated include ultra-high-speed streaming motion for precise joint control and voice command interpretation that automatically generates Python code, allowing operators to direct robots using natural language rather than manual programming.
“Physical AI is the next frontier in industrial automation,” said Mike Cicco, president and CEO of Fanuc America. “By collaborating with Nvidia, we’re giving manufacturers the tools to deploy intelligent robotics faster.”
Murali Gopalakrishna, general manager of robotics at Nvidia, described the collaboration as addressing manufacturers seeking solutions “that bridge the gap between virtual simulation and real-world production.”
A Broader Industry Shift
Fanuc is among a growing roster of industrial robot manufacturers adopting Nvidia’s physical AI platform. At Nvidia’s GTC 2026 conference in March, CEO Jensen Huang declared that “physical AI has arrived” and that “every industrial company will become a robotics company.” ABB Robotics, Kuka, Universal Robots, and Yaskawa have all announced integrations with Nvidia’s simulation and inference tools, collectively representing more than two million installed robots worldwide.
Nvidia also unveiled GR00T N1.7, now available in early access with commercial licensing, which delivers generalized robot skills including advanced dexterous control. A successor model, GR00T N2, is expected by year-end and reportedly helps robots succeed at new tasks in unfamiliar environments more than twice as often as leading vision-language-action models.
$90 Million to Scale US Robot Production
Separately, Fanuc America announced a 90-million-dollar investment to acquire property and construct an 840,000-square-foot facility in Michigan, targeted for completion in late 2027. The project is expected to create 225 jobs and will expand capacity for US-based robot manufacturing to support growing demand for automation solutions including physical AI, virtual commissioning, and digital twin technologies.
“This investment builds on Fanuc America’s Michigan manufacturing footprint, which has included producing robots for paint application domestically for more than four decades,” Cicco said.
Since 2019, Fanuc America has invested nearly 300 million dollars across multiple facilities, expanding its US footprint to 3 million square feet and creating more than 700 jobs. The company is also opening an expanded Fanuc Academy training center in Auburn Hills, Michigan later in 2026, which it says will become the largest robotics and automation skills-development center in the United States.
The twin announcements position Fanuc to serve automotive, logistics, and food processing customers seeking to deploy AI-capable robots manufactured on American soil, at a time when reshoring and supply chain resilience remain central concerns for North American manufacturers.