Agility Robotics Opens Fremont Training Facility Near Tesla’s Expected Optimus Factory

The 60,000-square-foot site expands Agility’s capacity to prepare Digit for warehouse and factory work as Fremont becomes a focal point for humanoid robotics competition.

Agility Robotics is opening a 60,000-square-foot facility in Fremont, California, to train its Digit humanoid robots, putting the company close to the Tesla site where Optimus manufacturing is expected to begin this year.

The move gives Agility more room to develop and prepare robots for industrial deployments as companies race to convert humanoid prototypes into equipment that can operate reliably in warehouses and manufacturing plants. Digit already carries totes and bins for customers including Amazon, GXO, Schaeffler, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Agility says.

Agility said it has secured $300 million in contract orders. The company has not disclosed how many Digit robots it has built or deployed. It has said Digit moved 100,000 totes at a GXO logistics facility, an indication of the kind of repetitive materials-handling work it is targeting.

CEO Peggy Johnson said Tesla’s proximity can help broaden acceptance of humanoid robots. “It’s great to have Tesla in the same area as us, because really, for a long time Agility was out there alone, and it’s good to have others in the humanoid space,” Johnson said.

Agility’s argument is that commercial readiness matters as much as robot intelligence. Johnson said the company has learned how to meet safety, regulatory, compliance, IT-integration, and warehouse-management-system requirements inside customer facilities. Those details can determine whether a robot moves beyond a pilot program.

Tesla, meanwhile, has placed increasing emphasis on Optimus. Elon Musk recently said he expects Optimus to be “the biggest product ever” once it is useful outside Tesla sometime next year. Tesla’s manufacturing timing and Fremont location remain expected rather than independently confirmed.

The uncertainty is significant. Agility has not specified an opening date for the Fremont facility beyond its announcement, and it has not released deployment totals for Digit. But the strategic signal is clear: humanoid robotics is no longer clustering only around research labs and venture-backed demonstrations. It is moving toward training capacity, customer integration, and production infrastructure.

For robotics buyers, Fremont’s emerging rivalry could accelerate progress on the unglamorous but essential elements of automation: safety validation, operational uptime, software integration, and repeatable deployment. Agility is betting that Digit’s existing warehouse work gives it a head start while Tesla brings more capital, manufacturing muscle, and public attention to the category.