Agility Robotics opens 60,000-square-foot training facility for Digit robots in Fremont, California

Agility Robotics opened a 60,000-square-foot training facility in Fremont, California, to accelerate the development and deployment of its Digit humanoid robots. The facility is located near Tesla’s Fremont factory, where Tesla is expected to begin manufacturing its Optimus robots this year. Agility’s CEO, Peggy Johnson, stated that the proximity to Tesla is beneficial for the industry, as it brings more players into the humanoid robotics space.

Digit robots are already operational in manufacturing and warehouse settings for customers including Amazon, GXO, Schaeffler, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. The company has secured $300 million in contract orders for its robots, demonstrating early commercial traction. While Agility has not disclosed the exact number of Digit robots built or deployed, outside observers estimate that dozens are in pilot or revenue-generating deployments. For example, Digit robots have reportedly moved 100,000 totes at a GXO logistics facility.

Agility is preparing to go public later this year through a reverse merger, which would make it the first pure-play humanoid robotics company on public markets. The company was founded in 2015 by researchers who developed techniques enabling robots to walk safely on two legs. Agility is positioning itself as a leader in the humanoid robotics market, competing with newer AI-inspired startups such as Figure, 1X, the Bot Company, and Sunday Robotics.

The new facility is designed to train Digit robots in environments that simulate real-world conditions, enabling the robots to learn new skills for deployment. Unlike some competitors, Agility is not planning to offer in-home humanoid robots in the near term, focusing instead on industrial and logistics applications. The company’s co-founder and chief robot officer, Jonathan Hurst, emphasized the vast potential for Digit in tasks such as handling bins, totes, picking, kitting, and eventually loading and unloading tractor trailers.

Agility’s approach to autonomy prioritizes safety, with the company separating critical safety functions from generative AI systems. Co-founder and chairman Damion Shelton compared this approach to non-humanoid examples like self-driving cars, where safety-critical systems should not rely on creative AI outputs. However, the company sees generative AI as a key enabler for scaling applications and coding tasks for the robots.