FANUC Corporation, the world's largest supplier of industrial robots and factory automation gear, has unveiled a strategic collaboration with Google to advance physical AI across its product lineup. The deal, announced May 19, 2026, will fold Google's Intrinsic robotics platform and Gemini-based AI capabilities into FANUC's open robot architecture to help manufacturers handle more complex, variable production lines.
An AI agent that operates the robot
Physical AI, the integration of cognitive intelligence with physical action, has become the rallying cry of factory automation. The approach uses sensors to perceive the environment, large models to reason about goals, and actuators to execute tasks. FANUC said its robots already support ROS, the open-source industry standard for robot control, through FANUC's own ROS drivers. Google is a prominent contributor and maintainer of ROS through its Intrinsic robotics AI group, which makes the two stacks a natural fit.
FANUC's open platform also supports Python for AI development, high-speed external control interfaces, and easy PLC integration. Combined with Google Cloud and Gemini, manufacturers can deploy AI agents that recognize objects, follow natural-language instructions, and coordinate sequences of tasks across the full FANUC lineup, from small 3 kg payload arms to 2.3-ton heavy lifters and the CRX collaborative series.
Building on a fast-moving physical AI push
FANUC released its physical AI system at the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) in Tokyo in December 2025. Since then, the company has shipped more than 1,000 robots for physical AI applications, with demand accelerating. The Google deal follows FANUC's March 2026 collaboration with NVIDIA on Isaac Sim, Jetson edge modules, and Omniverse libraries for simulation-based training and deployment.
FANUC also announced a $90 million investment to build an 840,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Pontiac, Michigan, expanding US production capacity for AI-enabled robots and creating about 225 jobs.
Why it matters for manufacturers
FANUC has roughly 1.1 million robots installed in factories worldwide. Plugging Gemini-class AI agents and Intrinsic's developer tools into that base could turn the existing fleet into a software-upgradable platform, similar to how cloud providers extended the life of older servers.
"Manufacturers are moving beyond the question of whether to use AI and focusing on how to apply it where it matters most, on the factory floor," said Mike Cicco, president and chief executive of FANUC America. "By combining FANUC's industrial-grade robotics with Google's advanced AI, we're enabling customers to take on more complex, variable production while maintaining the reliability and performance that production environments demand."
The race to embed AI in factory robots
FANUC is not alone. ABB has partnered with NVIDIA on simulation-based physical AI; KUKA and Universal Robots are Intrinsic partners; and Yaskawa has its own AI roadmap. Recent moves include Mitsubishi Electric's physical AI tie-up with Chiba Tech and Plus One Robotics' eight-hour live warehouse demonstration. Investors have responded enthusiastically: FANUC shares jumped 16% to a record on news of the Google deal.
What to watch next
FANUC and Google have not detailed a customer deployment timeline, but expect early commercial pilots in automotive and electronics assembly, where mixed-model production and frequent changeovers reward AI-driven adaptability. The integration with Google's Gemini model family also raises the prospect of a shared agent stack that spans cloud, edge, and the factory floor.
Reporting based on coverage from Robotics Tomorrow and The Robot Report.