Reindustrializing America with robots
Project Nanda and Agentic AI
Circuit Launch hosted a spur of the moment event on Agentic AI and Project Nanda with MIT Professor Ramesh Raskar on Friday July 18. They’re looking for partners, people interested in contributing to the project and various working groups for decentralized AI standards.
NANDA (Networked Agents And Decentralized AI) builds on Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) to create a true Internet of AI Agents. While MCP provides standardized interaction between AI agents, tools and resources, NANDA adds the critical infrastructure needed for distributed agent intelligence at scale.
For more information read the paper “A Perspective on Decentralizing AI”
Join us at Circuit Launch Mountain View for more robotics and AI events, including the next Bots&Beer on Wednesday Aug 6th.
Reindustrializing America with robots
Detroit was abuzz with the Reindustrialize defense fest this weekend, with Palmer Lucky of Anduril bullish about opportunities to make computers in the US again. Palmer addressed the crowd via a robot from Foundation, a San Francisco based humanoid robotics company.
Of course as Robert Rose, the CEO of Reliable Robotics, pointed out in the New York Times, that as someone who’s already building hardware in America, “I scratch my head whenever I hear ‘re’industrialize or ‘re’shoring,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Hell! We’re right here guys! We never left!”
Many robotics companies have opted to manufacture in the United States already, but as the recent article, “Electronic Components Hit Hard by Tariffs” in IEEE Spectrum shows, tariffs are driving prices for components up. Additional (and unpredictable) tariff bills have already had a big impact on companies like Adafruit and Wyze. Tariffs are supposed to support local manufacturing but are making it expensive to set up supply chains.
Nirav Patel, CEO and founder of California-based modular laptop manufacturer Framework said,
“We typically don’t have the volume to drive major manufacturers to set up new infrastructure. We’re operating downstream of decisions that our suppliers are making on their own.”
So, why doesn’t Framework just build in the United States? Patel says it again comes down to oddities in tariff policy.
As mentioned, laptops from Taiwan are currently exempt from tariffs. “The components that go into products, for the most part, are not exempt,” says Patel. “So, for companies that do want to set up manufacturing in the U.S., the barriers in many cases are higher than doing that assembly outside the U.S.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday California Forever, the group of billionaires behind a new city plan a stone's throw away from San Francisco, announced plans to build a giant manufacturing park called Solano Foundry. And ITIF just released their suggestions for US policies to strengthen the robotics industry.
Robots are the future. It is time for Congress and the administration to take a number of straightforward and affordable steps to boost U.S. robotics innovation and adoption.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
An array of technologies are improving and coming together to enable robotics to be a key “general purpose technology” for the next technology long wave.
Robotics is a strategic industry the United States cannot afford to lose to China, which is making massive efforts to dominate the industry globally.
Robotics will be a critical technology to improving labor productivity and wage growth.
U.S. robotics adoption rates are anemic and are even behind China, a country with significantly lower labor costs.
While U.S. innovators continue to deliver cutting-edge robotics breakthroughs, the actual production of industrial robots is now dominated by foreign competitors. The United States has no domestic foundries producing robots.
China is making substantial efforts to dominate the global robotics industry.
While ideally Congress should provide significant financial incentives to support robotics innovation and adoption, in that absence, there are still many steps it and the administration can take to boost U.S. robotics.
COMMUNITY NEWS
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🚀 We’re thrilled to announce the 1st International Humanoid Olympiad (www.humanoidolympiad.org) that will take birth at the grounds of the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece, from August 29 to September 2, 2025.
🤖 Why in Olympia and why now?
🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the place where the human body and spirit were first pushed beyond limits. Humanoids will stand on the same ground taking a significant step in their quest to become our peers.
🦾 2025 marks a pivotal moment in humanoid development. Physical AI is empowering an increasingly maturing robot hardware to accomplish feats that were though to be impossible. Robotic dexterity and intelligence are here to build a shared future, a society of humans and robots. Organized by Acumino and Endeavor Greece, the Humanoid Olympiad will feature:
🏅 Live participation of humanoids in Olympic inspired games
🎓 Inspiring talks by world experts in Humanoid Robots and Physical AI
🌍 Cutting-edge humanoid exhibitions from around the world
👩🔬 A thriving community of researchers, builders, dreamers, and pioneers
Get ready for the ultimate showdown of humanoid robots. Join us in Olympia as we reimagine what is possible with humanoid robots!
The IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE) is the flagship automation conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) and constitutes the primary forum for cross-industry and multidisciplinary research in automation. Its goal is to provide broad coverage and dissemination of foundational research in automation among researchers and practitioners.
CASE 2025 will be held on August 17 – August 21, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, USA. The pre-conference workshops will be held on August 17, 2025. This is a great opportunity to showcase to the world’s leading automation, robotics and engineering community.
Sponsor and exhibitor information can be found here and you can also apply for the IEEE RAS IAB Startup Zone (discounted exhibit space and conference registration).
Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database
Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our "For Investors Eyes Only" sheet.
These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.
Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.
Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.
If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!
Robotics News
Hadrian raises $260M to build out automated factories for space and defense parts - TechCrunch
Drones, AI and Robot Pickers: Meet the Fully Autonomous Farm - WSJ
The Robots That Are Taking Over Your Food Delivery - WSJ
From Aspiring Pro Surfer to Delivery Robot CEO with Coco’s Zach Rash - The Spoon
Why Cartken pivoted its focus from last-mile delivery to industrial robots - TechCrunch
Ex-Waymo engineers launch Bedrock Robotics with $80M to automate construction - TechCrunch
Uber Makes a bet on premium robotaxis - TechCrunch
China’s EngineAI Raises $139 Million in Fresh Funding For Humanoid Robots - AI Insider
China’s JD.Com Backs Three Robotics Startups in Embodied AI Push - YICAI
China’s Unitree Robotics starts IPO process - Reuters
Luxshare Robotics break ground on $690 million Changshu headquarters base - Technode
Robots in China are riding the subway to make 7-Eleven deliveries - Popular Science
Norwegian startup Remora Robotics reels in €13.7m in latest funding round - Undercurrent News
Jaipur Robotics rasied €153K to boost waste-to-energy gains with AI vision - TechEU
Elephant Robot Showcases Future of 3D-Printed Robotics - IOT World Today
Meet the robo-bunny: This tiny, furry robot is taking on invasive pythons in Florida - USA Today
Robotics Events
Coming soon - Open Robot Gym Hours, Workshops and more
ROS By the Bay at Google X - July 24
Bots & Beer at Circuit Launch Mountain View - Aug 6
Actuate - Sep 23-24
SVR Robotics Investment Summit - Sep 25
ROSCON UK
ROSCON Singapore - Oct 27-30
SVR Robotics Leadership Summit - Dec 10
Humanoids Summit - Dec 11-12
Join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org
