What is agentic AI and why does it matter for factories? Agentic AI means artificial intelligence that can think for itself and make choices without asking a human first. Instead of following exact instructions, these AI systems can plan, decide, and act on their own. For factories, this is a big deal because it means machines can run more of the production line by themselves.

This week, there was exciting news about how artificial intelligence robots are going to change manufacturing. Foxconn, one of the world's biggest electronics makers, and Intrinsic, which is a robotics company owned by Alphabet (the company that runs Google), said they are working together. Their goal is to create robots that use AI to understand their jobs and learn how to do new things. These are not robots that can only build one product. These robots can adapt and learn, which means factories can use them for many different jobs.

The partnership between Foxconn and Intrinsic focuses on things like putting tiny parts together, checking if parts are good quality, moving heavy equipment, and moving things around factories. The companies want to use AI to automate work that people still do by hand today. This is important because making computers and AI servers is getting bigger and bigger, and factories need smarter ways to do the work.

A really important study came out this week from TCS, a big technology company that helps factories. The study asked factory leaders around the world what they think about AI. Almost all of them - about 89% - expect that humans and AI will work together on the factory floor. Even more important, about 75% of factory leaders believe that AI will help them make more money by next year. But here is the problem: only 21% of factories say they are fully ready for AI right now.

What makes this study special is that it talks about agentic AI. According to the study, almost three-quarters of factory leaders think that in just three years, AI agents will be making about half of all the regular decisions in their factories. This means robots and computers will decide things like "Should we fix this machine now?" or "What should we make next?" or "How should we move this shipment?" These decisions happen every day in factories, and soon AI agents will be making many of them on their own.

But there are big challenges. Right now, factories do not have the systems and information they need to let AI agents run things. They need better ways to collect data, better computer systems, and better planning. It is like trying to give someone a job when they do not have the tools they need to do it. Factory leaders know AI is important, but they need help getting ready.

This week also brought bad news about computer chips. Because everyone wants chips for AI computers, there is a big shortage. Chip makers are so busy making the special chips that AI uses that they cannot make the regular chips that go in regular computers, phones, and factory equipment. This means prices are going up and lead times are getting longer. It might even slow down how fast AI infrastructure grows because there are not enough parts to build everything companies want to build.

To solve some of these problems, companies are trying new ideas. One idea is making fake data that AI can learn from. Instead of needing tons of real information, AI systems can learn from computer-created data that shows what might happen. This helps AI become smarter and better without needing to collect so much real information. This is especially helpful in areas like making medicine and chemicals where there are millions of possible combinations to try.

In summary, this week shows that the intelligent factory is becoming real. Companies like Foxconn and Intrinsic are building robots that think for themselves. Research shows that AI agents will soon make half of all factory decisions. But factories need to get ready by building better systems and collecting good information. Even though there are challenges like chip shortages, the future of manufacturing with smart AI agents is happening right now.