Factories around the world are getting new workers that never get tired, never take breaks, and never complain. These workers are AI agents—smart computer programs and robots that can think and make decisions on their own. This weekly update shows how these AI helpers are changing manufacturing in countries from India to Korea to the United States.

Robot Workers That Look Like People

One of the biggest changes is happening with humanoid robots—machines that look somewhat like humans with arms, legs, and hands. In India, a robotics company called Ati Motors just announced a new robot called Sherpa Mecha. What makes this robot special is that it was built specifically for factory work, not to look pretty or move exactly like a person. It can tend machines, carry materials around the factory floor, and do other real manufacturing jobs. The company calls it the world's first humanoid robot designed for practical manufacturing use.

In the United States, several car companies are testing humanoid robots right now. Boston Dynamics, a robotics company owned by Hyundai, will start using its Atlas robot at a Hyundai electric car factory in Georgia this October. The robot's first job will be parts sequencing—organizing all the different pieces that go into building a car in the right order. This might sound simple, but it is an important step that has to be done perfectly every time.

Tesla is moving even faster with its Optimus robot. The electric car maker already has these robots working on its assembly line at its factory in Fremont, California. Tesla's boss, Elon Musk, says the company wants to have about 1,000 Optimus robots working there by the end of this year. He believes these robots are so important that they will eventually make up 80 percent of Tesla's total value. Musk wants to sell Optimus robots for $20,000 each, which would make them much cheaper than most factory robots today.

BMW is testing robots too. At its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the German car maker is using Figure 02 robots made by a startup called Figure AI. These robots handle car parts and put them together. Each robot can do up to 1,000 different tasks every day. Compared to older robot models, Figure 02 works four times faster and breaks down seven times less often.

Countries Racing to Build Robot Factories

South Korea is making a huge push to become a leader in humanoid robots. The country started something called the K-Humanoid Alliance—a team of 40 companies and universities working together. The government is backing this project with plans to invest more than $713 million by 2030. Korea wants to build robots using only technology made in Korea, not parts from other countries.

One Korean company already working with AI robots is Posco, which makes steel. Posco's technology division, Posco DX, is building an unmanned AI crane for steel factories. This crane uses artificial intelligence to move heavy steel products of different shapes and sizes without a human operator. The company is testing the crane in virtual simulations first, making sure it works perfectly before putting it in a real factory. The main reason for this project is safety—steel mills are very hot and dangerous places for people to work.

Experts say robots make sense for countries like Korea because fewer babies are being born there. Professor Choi Byoung-ho from Korea University said that in five years, humanoid robots will be able to do almost any job a person can do. He explained that companies will prefer robots over people because robots cost less and work longer hours.

Smart Software Agents Helping Behind the Scenes

Not all AI agents are robots you can see and touch. Some are software programs that work inside computers to make factories run better. A company called Factory just raised $50 million from big investors like Sequoia Capital and NVIDIA. Factory makes AI agents called Droids that can write computer code, find and fix software bugs, and help engineers work faster.

Big companies are already using these Droids. NVIDIA, MongoDB, Zapier, and others report that Droids help them build new features 31 times faster than before. When something breaks in their software, Droids can fix it 95.8 percent faster than human engineers working alone. The Droids work from different places—they can help through a computer terminal, inside coding programs, through Slack messages, or even through a web browser.

Another startup using AI agents is Burnt, which raised $3.8 million to help the food supply chain. The founders come from families that have worked in the food business for generations, so they understand the problems well. Burnt's AI agents can read customer orders from emails, spreadsheets, and even voicemail messages. These agents then process the orders automatically in just seconds, instead of the hours it used to take. The company already handles more than $10 million in orders every month for big food distributors like La Tua Pasta.

Managing Armies of Robots

As more companies use robots, they need systems to control them all. eInfochips, a company owned by Arrow Electronics, partnered with InOrbit.AI to create a platform that can manage many different types of robots at once. This system works in warehouses, factories, and industrial buildings. It helps companies watch all their robots from one screen, see what each robot is doing, and fix problems quickly. The platform works with robots from different makers, so companies do not have to buy everything from just one supplier.

The Human Side of AI in Manufacturing

While robots take over physical work, another company is using AI to help human workers. Valence raised $50 million to expand Nadia, an AI coach for employees. Big companies like Delta, Kraft Heinz, and General Mills already use Nadia. The AI coach talks to workers and gives them advice on how to do their jobs better, how to handle stress, and how to develop leadership skills. More than one million coaching sessions have happened so far, and workers rate the experience very highly.

All these changes show that AI agents are becoming normal in manufacturing. Whether they are robots moving car parts, software fixing computer code, or AI coaches helping human workers, these smart helpers are making factories faster, safer, and more efficient. As the technology gets better and cheaper, more companies around the world will likely use AI agents in their factories.