Foxconn hires humanoid robots to make servers at Nvidia's Texas factory

Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn has confirmed it will use humanoid robots to make Nvidia servers in America.

Foxconn CEO and chairman Young Liu yesterday told Japanese outlet Nikkei the company will deploy the bots "within six months or so" and that they will help to speed production.

The company made a passing reference to the bots last week in a press release that said Foxconn is working with Nvidia "to build a next-generation smart manufacturing plant for AI servers" that will be "among the first to deploy humanoid robots powered by the NVIDIA Isaac GR00T N model on its production lines."

Liu didn't say how many bots Foxconn will put to work, didn't describe the machines and their capabilities, didn't say what roles they will take on, or whether they would obviate the need for human workers. Nor did he explain why humanoid robots are a good fit for Nvidia's factory, a significant issue as building robots that replicate human anatomy is generally considered wasteful unless they will work in environments built for people. Robots built specifically to work in factories are therefore common, and humanoid contraptions largely remain a curiosity.

Foxconn's decision should not be a surprise, as in May The Register attended a keynote address delivered by Liu in which he predicted generative AI and robotics will destroy low-end manufacturing jobs.

Speaking at the Computex conference in Taiwan, Liu said nations have historically done two things to help put downward pressure on the cost of manufactured goods: Outsourcing to countries where wages are low, and immigration policy that brings in more people willing to work for low wages. Both approaches, he said, will lose their potency as AI takes over some manufacturing jobs.

News that Foxconn and Nvidia will use humanoid robots in Houston is therefore a mixed blessing for the Trump administration, which promised to bring more factories and high-paying manufacturing jobs to America. Foxconn's plan to use bots may cost some jobs while also leaving better-paid gigs available to humans. Whatever tasks Foxconn's mecha-humans take on, they'll do them in a new factory on American soil. ®