Yusen Logistics (Americas) Inc., the U.S. arm of Japanese shipping giant NYK Group, said on August 3, 2026 that it has partnered with Brooklyn-based Destro AI to deploy the startup's physical AI platform inside its transload operations, coordinating autonomous mobile robots and warehouse employees in real time.
Where the deployment lands first
The initial rollout focuses on optimizing cart movements — the messy, high-variability freight flow between inbound receiving, staging, dock operations and outbound shipping. Destro's software observes warehouse state, plans and simulates work, then dispatches tasks across its fleet of AMRs and mobile manipulators, while continuously reallocating jobs as freight volumes and labor availability shift.
Yusen's automation strategy
The 30,000-employee operator, with 733 locations in 47 countries, said the deployment is part of an ongoing investment in intelligent warehouse technology. "Automation is most effective when it helps our people work smarter while improving service, reliability, and operational performance," said Rick Brunelle, director of automation at Yusen. Follow-on phases will evaluate pallet movement and AI-powered workflow verification.
Destro's physical AI thesis
Founded in 2024 by CEO Manthan Pawar, Destro AI is one of a growing class of physical AI platforms — alongside deployments such as UNIT AI and the digital-twin partnerships behind Vention and Teradyne — trying to move warehouse automation past isolated robotic tasks toward end-to-end orchestration of people, equipment and material flow. The Yusen deal gives Destro a Fortune-scale operator to validate that thesis against high-tempo transload volumes.
Reporting based on coverage from Automated Warehouse and Yahoo Finance.