Toyota is betting $6.4 billion a year on humanoid robots and factory automation

Toyota wants to turn itself into a global robotics company, and it's betting on humanoid robots and factory automation to get there. The world's largest automaker plans to deploy 400,000 robots as part of a $6.4 billion annual investment plan, the Financial Times reports.

In July, Toyota's AI robotics spinout Walden Robotics went public with a $1.1 billion valuation and $300 million in funding. Goldman Sachs analysts think Toyota could grab three to eight percent of the humanoid robot market by 2035. Its rivals include Tesla, Xpeng, and Hyundai, which plans to start building its Atlas robot in the US in 2028.

A Toyota executive says the company's own factories come first for robot deployment because the environment there is easier to control. Investors are more cautious. They point out that Toyota has fallen short of expectations before with hydrogen cars and solid-state batteries.

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