Kawasaki Heavy Teaming With Up With Nvidia, Microsoft in AI — Update

By Kosaku Narioka

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is teaming with up with Nvidia, Microsoft and others to improve its robots with the power of artificial intelligence through a newly established center in San Jose, Calif.

The Japanese industrial company said Friday that it aims to create businesses with Nvidia that integrate AI and robotics technologies across various fields, with healthcare as the entry point.

Kawasaki said it aims to develop offerings by combining AI with its products, including robots that support surgeries and carry meals and drugs, as well as robots to ride on to climb mountains.

The Japanese company operates in a range of sectors, including aerospace, shipbuilding, energy, plant engineering and motorcycles. The company also sells robots for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company has accumulated diverse operational data from manufacturing sites over many years, it said.

Kawasaki isn't alone trying to combine the potential of AI with robots.

Japanese industrial robot maker Fanuc said in December it planned to team up with Nvidia to improve robots.

In October, SoftBank Group agreed to buy Swiss industrial giant ABB's robotics business for $5.4 billion.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said the next frontier of AI is for machines to understand the physical world, move and work safely around people.

"Together, Kawasaki and Nvidia are building the foundation for a new generation of intelligent machines," he said.

Kawasaki Chief Executive Yasuhiko Hashimoto said the company's aim isn't to replace people, "but to deliver physical AI that supports human judgment and action--safely and efficiently."

Physical AI refers to AI that autonomously perceives, reasons and makes decisions in real-world environments and takes physical action through machinery.

The Japanese company also said it aims to accelerate the deployment of physical AI offerings with Microsoft and it would also work with U.S. chip company Analog Devices and Japan's Fujitsu through the center in San Jose.

Kawasaki shares rose 4.5% on Friday following the announcement of the collaboration with Nvidia, Microsoft and others.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 22, 2026 04:06 ET (08:06 GMT)