The race to develop and commercialize humanoid robots is intensifying, with Agility Robotics leading the pack with a major leadership move. The Oregon-based robotics company recently named tech veteran Peggy Johnson as its new CEO, positioning itself for significant growth and expansion.

Johnson brings a wealth of experience from her tenures at Microsoft, where she launched the company's corporate venture fund M12, and Qualcomm, where she played a pivotal role in the success of the BREW mobile app platform. Most recently, she served as CEO of Magic Leap, guiding the augmented reality company's pivot to the enterprise market.

"Peggy Johnson's long track record of engineering and business success at Qualcomm and Microsoft, and her recent achievements driving change as CEO of Magic Leap, make her the perfect leader to take Agility through the transition from cutting-edge technology startup to leading global robotics company," said Damion Shelton, Agility's co-founder and now president.

Humanoid Robots Gaining Momentum Agility's move comes amid a surge of interest and investment in humanoid robots, which are seen as a potential solution to ongoing labor shortages and the need for more flexible automation solutions. Nearly a dozen companies worldwide introduced humanoid prototypes in 2023, including Figure AI, which raised a staggering $675 million in Series B funding.

Analysts at Interact Analysis suggest that the flexibility and scalability offered by humanoid robots could be a game-changer in industries like logistics and warehousing, where repetitive and menial tasks are combined with a lack of standardization and uniformity.

Digit Leading the Way At the forefront of Agility's efforts is Digit, a bipedal robot touted as the world's only humanoid currently delivering productive work for customers. Standing at 5 feet 9 inches tall and capable of carrying payloads up to 35 pounds, Digit is already being tested by major companies like Amazon and GXO Logistics for tasks such as tote recycling and transferring items from autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to conveyors.

"In a field cluttered with 'demo-ware' and hype, Agility stands apart for having resolutely, steadily, and remarkably made a human-centric robot that actually works—and in demanding customer environments," said Johnson.

Preparing for Scale As demand for humanoid robots grows, Agility is gearing up for large-scale production. Later this year, the company will open RoboFab, a 70,000-square-foot robot manufacturing facility in Salem, Oregon, with an initial production capacity of hundreds of Digit robots and the potential to scale up to more than 10,000 units per year.

With Digit engineered to meet stringent OSHA safety standards and demonstrated to run large AI models for dynamic task adaptation, Agility is well-positioned to capitalize on the humanoid robotics trend.

Industry Giants Take Notice The potential of humanoid robots has not gone unnoticed by industry giants like Microsoft and Boston Dynamics. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently highlighted Agility, Apptronik, and RoMeLa from UCLA as three robotics startups he's excited about in the humanoid space.

Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics, known for its advanced robotics systems, recently released a video showcasing its Atlas robot performing object recognition and pick-and-place tasks with automotive struts, fueling speculation about potential commercialization efforts.

As the humanoid robotics race intensifies, Agility Robotics, with its new leadership and cutting-edge technology, is well-positioned to lead the charge in this exciting and rapidly evolving field.