Kawasaki Heavy ties up with Nvidia on physical AI, and the rideable robot horse gets a foundation model

Kawasaki Heavy ties up with Nvidia on physical AI, and the rideable robot horse gets a foundation model

Shares jumped 12% as the Japanese industrial group opened a San Jose development base with Nvidia, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Fujitsu, with its four-legged CORLEO mobility concept as the first showcase. Kawasaki Heavy Industries said on Friday it will partner with Nvidia and a handful of other US and Japanese firms on physical AI for robots, opening a joint development base in San Jose, California. Shares of the 130-year-old Japanese industrial group rose as much as 12 per cent on the news, their biggest move since 9 February. Other physical-AI exposed Japanese names followed, with Fanuc up 8 per cent and Yaskawa Electric gaining 5.9 per cent. The San Jose base will bring together Kawasaki, Nvidia, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Fujitsu, initially focused on healthcare, nursing-care, and mobility applications. The first product to be put through the new pipeline is CORLEO, a four-legged personal-mobility robot Kawasaki has been developing for off-road use. It is roughly the size of a large motorcycle, runs on a 150cc hydrogen engine that powers leg-mounted drive units, and is meant to be straddled and ridden, with the rider steering through weight shifts. Kawasaki has previously said it is aiming to use the vehicle at Expo 2030 in Riyadh and to bring it to market by 2035. The partnership applies Nvidia's simulation tools to CORLEO's development, alongside medical robotics work meant to produce assistants for doctors and nurses. Nikkei reported the plan before the official confirmation, and Kawasaki confirmed the outline of it on Friday morning Tokyo time. Morgan Stanley MUFG analysts including Takeshi Kitaura wrote in a pre-confirmation note that the collaboration "could lead to an acceleration in its AI robot development efforts" if the report turned out to be accurate. The same note flagged that Kawasaki's investment plan for the fiscal year ending March 2027 will include a year-on-year increase of around ¥10 billion ($63 million), including robot-related spending, which "indicates a proactive stance on AI adoption." The wider context is that Japanese industrial robotics is being reorganised, in real time, around partnerships with the foundation-model layer. Earlier this month Fanuc tied up with Google to integrate Gemini Enterprise and the Intrinsic robotics platform into its 1.1 million installed industrial robots, sending Fanuc shares to a record. Kawasaki's deal sits at the same intersection from the Nvidia side. The two largest hyperscaler-adjacent AI stacks now both have anchor partners among Japan's industrial robot incumbents. The CORLEO showcase suggests Kawasaki's tie-up is, at least at the start, oriented toward consumer-adjacent and care-economy form factors rather than the welding-cells-and-pick-and-place axis where Fanuc dominates. Japan has the demographic problem the rest of the OECD is two decades behind on, and physical AI in elder care is a politically funded priority at home. The investor read is straightforward enough. Robotics is the Asian stock theme of the year, and any credible tie-up with Nvidia, Google, or one of the other foundation-model providers is treated as an option on the next leg of the cycle. Nvidia's humanoid stack is already being trialled in live logistics operations through Siemens in Germany, and Nvidia's own conversations with LG Electronics on robotics and AI data centres are public. The Kawasaki deal adds a heavy-industry Japanese partner to the same list. Whether CORLEO ends up as a real product or a very expensive demonstration is the longer question. The robot exists today as a hydrogen-powered concept that drew about 1.2 billion social-media impressions when Kawasaki unveiled it at Expo 2025 in Osaka. The Nvidia partnership gives it a route to a simulation-trained control stack that could plausibly get it closer to working hardware. The share move on Friday says investors are willing, for now, to price that route in.

Kawasaki Heavy Teaming With Up With Nvidia, Microsoft in AI -- Update

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is teaming with up with Nvidia, Microsoft and others to improve its robots with the power of artificial intelligence through a newly established center in San Jose, Calif. The Japanese industrial company said Friday that it aims to create businesses with Nvidia that integrate AI and robotics technologies across various fields, with healthcare as the entry point. Kawasaki said it aims to develop offerings by combining AI with its products, including robots that support surgeries and carry meals and drugs, as well as robots to ride on to climb mountains. The Japanese company operates in a range of sectors, including aerospace, shipbuilding, energy, plant engineering and motorcycles. The company also sells robots for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company has accumulated diverse operational data from manufacturing sites over many years, it said. Kawasaki isn't alone trying to combine the potential of AI with robots. Japanese industrial robot maker Fanuc said in December it planned to team up with Nvidia to improve robots. In October, SoftBank Group agreed to buy Swiss industrial giant ABB's robotics business for $5.4 billion. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said the next frontier of AI is for machines to understand the physical world, move and work safely around people. "Together, Kawasaki and Nvidia are building the foundation for a new generation of intelligent machines," he said. Kawasaki Chief Executive Yasuhiko Hashimoto said the company's aim isn't to replace people, "but to deliver physical AI that supports human judgment and action--safely and efficiently." Physical AI refers to AI that autonomously perceives, reasons and makes decisions in real-world environments and takes physical action through machinery. The Japanese company also said it aims to accelerate the deployment of physical AI offerings with Microsoft and it would also work with U.S. chip company Analog Devices and Japan's Fujitsu through the center in San Jose. Kawasaki shares rose 4.5% on Friday following the announcement of the collaboration with Nvidia, Microsoft and others.

Kawasaki Heavy Teaming With Up With Nvidia, Microsoft in AI

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is teaming with up with Nvidia, Microsoft and others to advance collaboration in artificial intelligence through a newly established center in San Jose, Calif. The Japanese industrial company said Friday that it aim to create businesses with Nvidia that integrate AI and robotics technologies across various fields, with healthcare as the entry point. Kawasaki also said it aims to accelerate the deployment of physical AI offerings with Microsoft by leveraging cloud and AI platform capabilities. The Japanese company said it would also work with U.S. chip company Analog Devices and Japan's Fujitsu through the center.

Kawasaki Heavy Partners with Nvidia for Physical AI Robotics; Shares Surge 9%

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd is general engineering manufacturer. The Company operates in six business segments. The Aerospace Systems segment manufactures and sells aircraft, aircraft engines, and space-related equipment. The Rolling Stock segment manufactures and sells rolling stock, snow removal equipment, and other products. The Energy Solution & Marine segment manufactures and sells energy-related equipment and systems, hydrogen-related equipment, marine propulsion-related equipment and systems, plant-related equipment and systems, ships, and crushers. The Precision Machinery & Robotics segment manufactures and sells hydraulic equipment, industrial robots, and other products. The Powersports & Engines Segment manufactures and sells motorcycles, off-road vehicles (SxS, ATV), personal watercraft (PWC) jet ski, general-purpose gasoline engines, and other products. The Others segment is engaged in commerce, sales and order brokerage, and management of welfare facilities.