[Global Market Note] Japanese Firms Enter Physical AI Market, Armed with On-Site Experience and Data

Hitachi, FANUC Join Forces on Robot Development
Plan to Expand into New Markets Next Year After Factory Trials

Major Japanese manufacturers are moving one after another into the “physical AI” market. Because physical AI’s competitiveness depends on data accumulated and production know-how developed on the factory floor, Japanese companies with long-established manufacturing bases are combining their on-site experience and robotics technology with AI to explore new business opportunities.

Japan's Hitachi and FANUC have formed a strategic partnership to jointly commercialize physical AI. Screenshot of FANUC's website.

According to industry sources on October 8, Hitachi and FANUC, the world’s largest industrial robot manufacturer, recently signed a strategic partnership to jointly commercialize physical AI. The partnership centers on combining Hitachi’s AI technology with FANUC’s industrial robots to implement physical AI in real-world manufacturing settings.

The companies will use Hitachi’s factory in Ibaraki Prefecture as a testbed to validate physical AI technology by 2027. They will assess its effectiveness in terms of object-recognition accuracy, robot movements, task completion time, and quality.

They will also assess the benefits of combining Hitachi-developed edge AI semiconductors with FANUC’s industrial robots. Their plan is to build a system in which AI continuously learns from data generated during manufacturing, enabling more flexible operation not only of individual processes but also of entire production lines and factories.

The two companies plan to expand the physical AI technology and operational know-how gained through factory trials into other industries starting in 2027. They intend to leverage their global customer bases across the industries in which they operate, including semiconductors, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, logistics, and food.

The partnership’s strength lies in the manufacturing expertise and technology the two companies have built up. Hitachi is pursuing its “HMAX” business, which connects industrial data with AI, while FANUC supplies industrial robots and factory automation (FA) equipment to manufacturing sites around the world. The companies plan to combine their respective manufacturing technologies and on-site experience to accelerate the commercialization of physical AI.

※ This content is jointly produced by The Asia Business Daily and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). It delivers timely information on global market trends, new business opportunities, and key risks identified by trade offices around the world.

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