Agility Opens Fremont Physical AI Facility
Agility Robotics has opened a new facility in Fremont, California, focused on the software and AI capabilities behind its Digit humanoid robot. The site adds a Silicon Valley development hub to the company’s existing manufacturing operation in Oregon.
Quick Answer
- The Fremont facility covers 60,000 square feet.
- Agility says it will serve as a hub for software, AI training, testing and customer deployment work.
- The company plans to hire nearly 200 people across AI, machine learning and field operations.
- The goal is to help Digit learn more tasks for warehouses, manufacturing sites and distribution centers.
Why This Matters
Humanoid robotics is moving from hardware demonstrations toward the harder work of reliable deployment. A robot body may be capable of walking and lifting, but customers need systems that can repeat useful tasks safely across changing facilities.
Agility’s new site is designed around that software problem. The company says engineering teams in Fremont will train, test and improve the AI that lets Digit learn new skills and handle more sophisticated work in customer environments.
The move also shows how humanoid companies are splitting their operations. Hardware manufacturing can stay close to production infrastructure, while AI and software teams cluster near talent, customers and technology partners.
A Software Hub Beside RoboFab
The new Fremont site complements Agility’s RoboFab manufacturing operation in Salem, Oregon. RoboFab is responsible for building Digit, while the California facility will concentrate on software, robot capabilities and field operations.
That division is practical. Manufacturing a humanoid requires supply-chain control, assembly processes and quality systems. Teaching it new tasks requires data collection, simulation, model training, testing and feedback from real deployments.
Agility says it expects to hire nearly 200 professionals for the Fremont hub. The planned roles include AI and machine-learning engineering as well as field operations, which should connect development work more closely to what customers see on site.
Digit Is Being Positioned for Enterprise Work
Digit is a bipedal humanoid designed for repetitive and physically demanding material-handling tasks. Agility has announced deployments or projects with Schaeffler, GXO, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada and Mercado Libre.
The company also says it has secured more than $300 million in multi-year orders for Digit v5, subject to contractual milestones, and has a pipeline of more than 30 customers. Those figures come from Agility’s announcement and should be treated as company-reported commercial metrics rather than independently audited deployment totals.
For customers, the important question is not how many skills Digit can demonstrate once. It is whether the robot can perform a narrow set of useful tasks safely, recover from routine exceptions and keep working across long operating shifts.
Physical AI Needs Operational Data
Physical AI models need examples of how actions work in the real world. Warehouse layouts, tote positions, floor conditions and human activity vary from site to site. Each deployment can expose edge cases that do not appear in a controlled lab.
A development hub that combines AI engineers with field-operations staff can shorten the loop between a customer problem and a software update. That is likely to matter more as humanoid vendors move from pilots to larger fleets.
Agility has not disclosed a separate investment figure for the Fremont facility or a timetable for all planned hires. Opening a larger AI hub is a statement of intent, but commercial progress will still depend on robot reliability, customer economics and repeat orders.
What To Watch
The first signal will be whether Digit gains new customer-facing capabilities rather than only new demonstrations. The second will be how quickly Agility converts its reported order book and customer pipeline into sustained deployments.
It will also be worth watching how the Fremont software hub works with RoboFab. Humanoid companies that connect AI development, field data and repeatable manufacturing may have an advantage over teams that optimize those parts separately.
FAQ
What is Agility’s Fremont facility for?
It is a software and physical AI development hub where teams will train, test and improve capabilities for the Digit humanoid robot.
How large is the new facility?
Agility says the Fremont site covers 60,000 square feet.
Will Digit be manufactured in Fremont?
Agility describes Fremont as a software and capabilities hub. Its RoboFab operation in Salem, Oregon, remains the company’s manufacturing base.