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TMTPOST -- Robotics stocks surged Wednesday following a Politico report that the Trump administration is accelerating efforts to promote the industry's development. The push represents the latest front in Washington's technology competition with China, coming five months after the White House unveiled its AI acceleration plan.
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been meeting with robotics industry CEOs and is "all in" on accelerating the sector's development, according to three people familiar with the discussions cited by Politico. The administration is considering issuing an executive order on robotics next year, two sources said.
In the morning trade, iRobot jumped up to nearly 80%, while Richtech Robotics rose more than 7%, Serve Robotics climbed over 9%, and WeRide gained nearly 5%. Tesla advanced as much as 3.5%.
A Department of Commerce spokesperson said the administration is "committed to robotics and advanced manufacturing because they are central to bringing critical production back to the United States."
Multiple Agencies Preparing Action
The Department of Transportation is preparing to announce a robotics working group, possibly before year-end, according to one person familiar with the planning. Interest is growing on Capitol Hill as well. A Republican amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would have created a national robotics commission, though it was not included in the final bill. Other legislative efforts are underway.
The flurry of activity positions robotics as the next major front in America's race against China. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that by 2023, China had 1.8 million industrial robots in its factories—four times as many as the U.S. China, Japan, Australia, Germany and Singapore all have national robotics plans.
Catching up would require substantial investment. Funding is on pace to hit $2.3 billion in 2025, doubling last year′s total, according to CB Insights. Goldman Sachs estimates the global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035.
Tech Giants Position for Physical AI
While Politico framed this as a shift from AI toward robots, the move represents a variation on the same theme. Nvidia Corp. is positioning itself to be heavily involved in "physical AI," effectively a catch-all for the brains behind robotics and autonomous technology. This week, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said it's not mechanical robotics that will change the world, but rather "physical AI with embodiment into robots."
Speaking at the FII Priority Asia forum Monday, Son said he had been "crying" when forced to sell SoftBank's $5.8 billion Nvidia position in October to finance its $22.5 billion increased stake in OpenAI. He called critics who deem massive AI investment a bubble "not smart enough," saying that in 10 years, "at least 10%" of global GDP will be substituted by superintelligence and physical AI robots.
Musk Sees Solution to Debt Crisis
Tesla CEO Elon Musk predicted in a podcast interview released Sunday that AI and robotics are the "only" things that can solve the U.S. debt crisis. With national debt exceeding $38 trillion and interest payments surpassing the entire military budget, Musk said widespread deployment of AI and robotics could drive deflation through dramatic increases in output of goods and services.
"We're not there yet, but if you say 'how long would it take us to get there,' I think it's three years," Musk said, predicting goods and services growth will exceed money supply growth within that timeframe.
