Agility Robotics will use Nvidia’s IGX Thor modules as the only onboard computer in Digit 5, the next version of its humanoid robot. The company announced the deal on Thursday. Nvidia will be the exclusive supplier of onboard compute for the version that goes on general sale.
Agility expects early access to Digit 5 to start in the first half of 2027. Availability will then increase over six to nine months for factories, warehouses and distribution centres.
The deal is Agility’s fourth announcement in four days. The Oregon company is preparing to list on Nasdaq through a merger with a blank-check company, Churchill Capital Corp XI.
Safety checks before certification
Agility is also adding parts of Nvidia’s Halos safety platform to the system Digit uses to detect people around it. Nvidia’s Halos inspection lab will check Digit’s safety software, AI parts and cybersecurity. An outside body will then give final certification.
“Bringing humanoid robots to commercial scale requires AI computing and safety to be engineered together,” said Nvidia’s Deepu Talla.
Talla is Nvidia’s vice president of robotics and edge AI. Pras Velagapudi, Agility’s chief technology officer, said the Nvidia modules would give Digit 5 “a common foundation” before wide deployment.
Orders worth more than $300 million
On Wednesday, Agility said it would open a new 50,000-square-foot site in Pittsburgh. It adds about 35,000 square feet to its space in the city. It will house software and AI development, robot deployment teams and an East Coast service centre. Staff should get access by the end of the year.
Agility also said it had signed four new customers in the automotive, consumer goods and agriculture industries. It has more than $300 million in multi-year orders for Digit 5, subject to certain contractual milestones. Digit is already operating with GXO, Schaeffler and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada.
On Tuesday, Agility signed a commercial agreement with the farm machinery maker AGCO, which owns brands including Fendt and Massey Ferguson. From 2027, AGCO will test Digit at its factory in Hesston, Kansas, sorting and stacking parts and placing storage totes.
A board for a public company
On Monday, Agility named Mark Vale, a former president of UPS, as the future chair of its audit committee. He will join the board once the Churchill merger closes. Two existing directors, Bruce Leak and Matt Ocko, have stepped down.
The companies expect the merger to close in the fourth quarter, with shares trading under the ticker AGLT. Their announcements list risks, including Agility’s history of net losses. They also warn that it may not achieve commercial success. In China, the humanoid maker Unitree listed in Shanghai in August.
Agility has deployed Digit across nine customer sites, Business Insider reported. Tesla said this week that it had started building its Optimus humanoid robot in Fremont, California. LG plans to launch a humanoid running Nvidia’s software in 2027.