Doosan Robotics CEO to attend North America's largest automation expo, invites partners to meet

Doosan Robotics CEO Kim Min-pyo plans to attend North America's largest automation exhibition later this month, as the company accelerates its push into the physical AI era amid Nvidia's recent declaration that robotics is among the most promising sectors for investment in South Korea.

Kim is scheduled to attend Automate 2026, held at McCormick Place in Chicago from June 22 to 25, according to industry sources. Automate is North America's largest automation technology and solutions exhibition and is held every two years. It will be Kim's first time attending the event since taking office last year.

Kim announced his plans on his personal social media account, publicly inviting potential partners to meet. "If you want to discuss what Doosan Robotics has achieved in the North American market or explore opportunities for collaboration, let's get together and talk," he wrote. He added that visitors would be able to see "the direction Doosan Robotics is taking as it evolves into an automation solutions company in the age of physical AI."

At the show, Doosan Robotics plans to highlight its end-of-line automation solutions and Palletiz OS, an operating system for palletizing operations. The showcase is designed to demonstrate the company's expansion beyond collaborative robots into broader automation process solutions. "We plan to exhibit a range of commercialized robot solutions, including intelligent robot solutions," a company official said, "and will introduce automation technologies and real-world application cases that can be deployed on actual production floors."

The moves align with the growing industry focus on physical AI — the integration of generative AI into robots and equipment on factory floors. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly cited physical AI as the next frontier of the AI industry at public events and has identified robotics as a core area for investment in South Korea.

Industry observers say Doosan Robotics has been rapidly reshaping its business around AI solutions since Kim took the helm early last year. In July of that year, the company decided to acquire OneExia, a US-based automation solutions firm. The company described the move as a strategic shift away from its hardware-centric model toward stronger capabilities in intelligent robot solutions.

Doosan Robotics is also deepening its ties with Nvidia. In late April, Madison Huang, Nvidia's senior director of Omniverse and robotics product marketing and Jensen Huang's eldest daughter, visited the Doosan Robotics Innovation Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss physical AI collaboration with Kim. Doosan Robotics said it aims to integrate its agentic robot operating system, currently under development, with Nvidia's AI and robotics infrastructure to deliver a next-generation intelligent robot solution.

Kim also attended Nvidia's inaugural Korea Partner Night, held in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 1, further cementing the partnership. At the event, Jensen Huang said South Korea plays a "very important role" in the Nvidia ecosystem and reaffirmed his commitment to expanding cooperation with Korean companies, keeping expectations high for synergies between the two firms.

“피지컬 AI 거점, 한국 말고 없다”…젠슨 황 방한에 전문가가 내린 진단

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10764417

Experts say South Korea is irreplaceable as a physical AI hub, a view reinforced by Jensen Huang's visit to the country, which analysts say will further cement the role of Korean semiconductor and manufacturing companies in the global AI ecosystem.