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MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2026

Autonomous delivery robot on sidewalk in Asian city
China Robotics & AI

What we’re watching next in china

Beijing’s new subsidy isn't for robots. It's for robot component makers. The policy signal is loud: the Ministry-backed push to strengthen domestic upstream supply for robotics is moving from the lab to the shop floor. MIIT News has framed the initiative as a national drive to localize critical part

Gaming setup with multiple monitors and LED lighting
Consumer Tech

Apple plots Ultra lineup: foldable iPhone, premium MacBook

Apple plans a $2,000 foldable iPhone to spark its Ultra lineup. Fresh off launching the low-cost MacBook Neo, the company is reportedly lining up at least three new “ultra” products that will carry price premiums over their mainstream siblings, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gruman via The Verge. The

Industrial robot welding sparks in factory
Industrial Robotics

Schaeffler Partners with Leju to Grow Humanoids

Schaeffler just bet on a humanoid ally from China. In March 2026, Schaeffler, the industrial motion technology veteran, announced a strategic partnership with Leju Robotics, a Chinese humanoid robotics developer. The move marks Schaeffler’s first collaboration with a Chinese company and expands its

Drone camera flying in clear blue sky
Consumer Tech

Preorder Gift Cards Fuel MacBook, Galaxy S26 Push

Gift cards with every preorder are the latest tech lure. Time is running out to claim a free gift card when you preorder Apple’s new MacBook Neo and Samsung’s Galaxy S26 lineup, a cross-brand promo The Verge frames as a major post-MWC push through March 11. The promo hooks into a week that began in

Robot hand reaching towards human hand
AI & Machine Learning

AI Pacts Set India on a Discovery Path

DeepMind-backed partnerships are rolling AI into classrooms and labs nationwide. The Google DeepMind blog outlines a push to scale AI for science and education in India through the National Partnerships for AI initiative, a coalition of government, industry, and academia aimed at accelerating disco

Automated packaging line in food factory
Industrial Robotics

Record Attendance Boosts Thailand Automation Outlook

Automation Expo in Pattaya drew a record crowd—50% more attendees than last year. The 2026 edition, co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) and GMTX, wrapped at Nongnooch International Convention and Exhibition Center (NICE) in Pattaya, the beating heart of Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor’s fast-g

Beat Coverage

AI & Machine Learning

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Monitor showing lines of code in IDE
AI & Machine Learning

Enterprise AI Moves to Production, Governance Remains

AI moved from pilots to production—and governance hitched a ride. Enterprise AI is inching past the proof-of-concept phase, but the path to reliable, scalable production remains bumpy. A MIT Technology Review Insights study of 500 senior IT leaders at mid- to large-size U.S. companies, conducted in

Researcher analyzing data on transparent display
AI & Machine Learning

AI at War: Strikes on Iran Enter the Arena

AI is moving from dashboards to war rooms, changing how strikes are planned. The MIT Technology Review’s The Download paints a chilling, lucid picture: AI-enabled planning tools are slipping into geopolitics, with the potential to accelerate decisions that used to hinge on human judgment alone. The

Futuristic digital data visualization
AI & Machine Learning

Anthropic plans to sue Pentagon, AI policy turns tense

Anthropic plans to sue the Pentagon, and AI policy just got personal. MIT Technology Review’s daily digest, The Download, spotlights a moment when legal risk and public policy collide with defense AI ambitions. The edition, published March 6, 2026, is framed around “10 Things That Matter in AI Right

Person using laptop with AI interface on screen
AI & Machine Learning

Anthropic Suing the Pentagon Shifts AI's Defense Lens

Anthropic just escalated AI policy by suing the Pentagon. It’s a headline that crystallizes a broader push-pull: safety and accountability against speed and real-world deployment, especially as governments lean on AI to modernize defense programs. The move sits alongside MIT Technology Review’s Marc

Beat Coverage

Industrial Robotics

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Schaeffler partners with Leju Robotics to advance industrial humanoid robots
Industrial Robotics

Schaeffler taps Leju Robotics to scale humanoids

Schaeffler has announced a collaboration with Leju Robotics, cementing its first-ever partnership with a Chinese humanoid robotics maker and signaling a deliberate push to broaden its global footprint in industrial automation. The move marks a meaningful pivot for Schaeffler, a known player in motio

Robotic arm with precision gripper in clean room
Industrial Robotics

Adaptive Grippers for High-Mix Lines

A new adaptive gripper system promises to calm the chaos of high-mix, low-volume lines without constant tooling changes. Techman Robot Korea and Tesollo unveiled an articulated, multi-jointed gripper-based automation solution designed for high-mix production environments, set to be showcased at the

Precision robotic arm assembling components
Industrial Robotics

Thailand's Automation Expo Soars: Attendance Up 50%

A record 50% jump in attendees at Automation Expo Thailand signals a manufacturing rush to automate. The eight-year arc of industrial growth in Southeast Asia is colliding with a global push for smarter, more resilient operations, and Pattaya’s Nongnooch International Convention and Exhibition Cente

Solar panel manufacturing facility
Industrial Robotics

Flexible cobot duo targets high-mix, low-volume production

At AW 2026, a cobot arm and a three-finger gripper promise true high-mix, low-volume production. Techman Robot Korea and Tesollo unveiled an articulated, multi-jointed grasping system they say is optimized for handling a wide range of parts without the expense of a full-scale automation overhaul. A

Beat Coverage

Humanoids

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Taara Brings Fiber-Optic Speeds to Open-Air Laser Links​
Humanoids

Taara Beam Delivers Fiber-Grade Internet Through the Air

A shoebox-sized laser link is delivering fiber speeds through the air. Taara, the free-space optical (FSO) venture born from Google X, is at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona unveiling Taara Beam, a compact terminal designed to push gigabit-per-second data across urban air, not fiber cables. The sy

Dashboard showing robotics telemetry data
Humanoids

Agility Rebrands, Eyeing 2026 Humanoid Rollout

Agility drops “Robotics” from its name and bets on scale over hype, signaling a pivot from demos to durable deployments. Agility’s branding refresh is more than a cosmetic change. In a blog post, the company explains that removing the suffix as it moves beyond a single product line allows space to p

Sleek modern robot in bright clean setting
Humanoids

Agility Rebrands, Bets on 2026 Humanoid Debut

Agility just erased “Robotics” from its name and aims a 2026 cooperatively safe humanoid. The move signals not just a rebrand but a pivot toward scalable deployments across industries, backed by real-world pilots and enterprise partners. Engineering documentation shows Agility’s branding overhaul is

Robot demonstration at technology conference
Humanoids

High-Mix Humanoid Gripper Debuts at AW 2026

A humanoid hand on a TM arm can lift 20 kg—and the demo targets flexible factories. At AW 2026 in Seoul, Tesollo and Techman Robot Korea rolled out a joint system designed for high-mix, low-volume production, pairing Tesollo’s humanoid hand with a Techman robotic arm in what they describe as an adap

Regional Dispatch

China Robotics & AI

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Knowin Completes Angel+ Round Financing, Valued Over $300 Million
China Robotics & AI

Knowin Raises $300M Round, Signals Home Robotics Push

Knowin just closed a $300 million-plus round to put robots in every home. A Chinese startup racing to scale consumer-grade embodied AI robots has unveiled an aggressive funding cadence: since July 2025, Knowin has completed seed, angel, and Angel+ rounds—three financings in eight months. The Angel+

Shanghai skyline with modern technology district
China Robotics & AI

PaXini Secures $150M Series B, Valuation $1.5B

A Chinese AI unicorn just closed a $150 million round, lifting its valuation above $1.5 billion. PaXini Tech re-emerged onto the funding stage with a Series B that underscores how China’s embodied intelligence niche is evolving from lab concept to factory-floor scale. The round, led by Huangpujiang

Shenzhen technology hub at night with LED lights
China Robotics & AI

Momenta targets $1B in a Hong Kong IPO

Momenta targets $1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO. Hong Kong has become a magnet for Chinese tech firms seeking global capital without crossing the ocean, and Momenta’s confidentially filed plan signals that the city’s latest wave of technology listings isn’t slowing down. The autonomous-driving softwa

Modern Chinese factory with automated production line
China Robotics & AI

Li Auto bets on factory robots: two-wheeled

Li Auto is quietly racing to ship a two-wheeled factory robot by mid-2026. The project, codenamed Nexus, has been developing under wraps for about a year. The team is led by He Junpei, a former hardware partner at NineRay Tech, and insiders say the two-wheeled robot is reportedly ready for prime-tim

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