Manufacturing around the world is getting a major makeover thanks to AI agents and smart technology. This weekly update shows how different countries and companies are racing to put artificial intelligence into their factories.

China is making the biggest moves in AI manufacturing. The Chinese government has a master plan called the AI + Manufacturing initiative that aims to change how factories work across the entire country. China's AI industry is already worth more than $70 billion and has over 4,300 companies working on AI projects. The government wants to grow this to $140 billion by 2030 and boost related businesses to $1.4 trillion.

Shanghai, one of China's most important cities for technology, announced a detailed three-year plan to put AI into manufacturing. The plan focuses on using AI-powered robotics, digital twins (which are computer copies of real factories), and intelligent quality inspection systems. These technologies will be used in industries that make electric cars, airplanes, and medical equipment. The goal is to make factories that can change quickly based on what customers want and predict problems before they happen.

In South Korea, Intel worked with LG Innotek to build a real AI-powered smart factory. LG Innotek makes camera parts for smartphones, and they needed a better way to check if their products had defects. Intel's solution uses different types of computer processors working together like an orchestra. Regular Intel Core CPUs handle basic tasks, while Arc GPUs take care of harder jobs like analyzing high-quality images. When they need to train new AI models, Intel Xeon processors do the heavy lifting.

The most interesting part of this partnership is how easy Intel made it for LG Innotek's engineers to use the new system. The company was worried about changing their existing setup, but Intel's OpenVINO software made it simple to switch over. OpenVINO is a free toolkit that helps developers write AI programs once and use them anywhere. This meant LG Innotek didn't have to rewrite all their code, saving time and money.

LG Innotek started using this AI system on their mobile camera production line in 2024. Now they plan to expand it to their major factories in South Korea, including the Gumi 4 factory that makes special computer chips. They also want to bring this technology to their factories in other countries.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Foxconn made history in August 2025. For the first time ever, the company made more money from AI data centers than from traditional manufacturing. This is huge news because manufacturing usually makes up 20-30% of Foxconn's yearly income. Foxconn is now building data centers in both Taiwan and the United States. In the US, they're working with SoftBank on a project called Stargate.

The shift at Foxconn shows how the manufacturing world is changing. Companies that used to focus on making physical products are now building the computer infrastructure that powers AI systems. Foxconn even completed a business deal with TECO Electric & Machinery Co. in July 2025 to make it easier to build AI data centers.

Across the globe, major technology companies are spending enormous amounts of money on AI infrastructure. Microsoft is budgeting $120 billion, Amazon is spending over $100 billion, Google's parent company Alphabet is investing $85 billion, and Meta has set aside $72 billion. This massive spending shows how important AI manufacturing infrastructure has become.

These developments mean that AI agents are becoming the new workforce in factories everywhere. Instead of just helping humans do their jobs, AI systems are taking over entire processes like quality control, production planning, and equipment maintenance. The technology is getting cheaper and easier to use, which means even smaller companies can afford to make their factories smarter.

This transformation is happening faster than many experts expected, with some projects being completed in just a few months instead of years.