Kawasaki Collaborates with NVIDIA, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Fujitsu to Accelerate Development of Physical AI toward Social Implementation. — Establishment of a Physical AI Development Hub in Silicon Valley, USA —

Tokyo, May 22, 2026 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. today announced the establishment of the Kawasaki Physical AI Center San Jose, a new hub in Silicon Valley, USA, for the social deployment of Physical AI, with the aim of accelerating Japan–U.S. collaboration in the AI and semiconductor fields. Through this Center, Kawasaki will advance collaboration with NVIDIA, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Fujitsu—world-leading players in AI development.
An opening ceremony was held on May 21. In the presence of representatives from these AI development companies and officials from Japanese government agencies that supported the establishment of the Center, Yasuhiko Hashimoto, President and Chief Executive Officer, delivered the following statement of commitment:

At the Kawasaki Physical AI Center, we will first focus on healthcare and elder care, where aging societies and labor shortages are global challenges. We will establish “hospital one-stop solution” that covers the entire in-hospital experience from arrival, examination, diagnosis, and treatment, to surgery and post-care—through the integration of Physical AI and robotics.
Simultaneously, by expanding the integration of Physical AI and robotics across a wide range of industries—including semiconductors, automotive, and new mobility—we will deploy integrated solutions across diverse fields.

What matters most is that these solutions take root on site, are used continuously, and contribute to improving the quality of healthcare. This is what we call “social implementation.” What we aim for is NOT to replace people, but to deliver Physical AI that supports human judgment and action — safely and efficiently.
At this Center, partners from AI, semiconductors, software, academia, and those who understand real customer challenges come together. We would like to make this place a starting point for global partnerships.　(Abstract)

Full text of the opening ceremony remarks
https://www.khi.co.jp/pressrelease/news_260522-1.pdf

In addition, many stakeholders, including participants in the ceremony, expressed strong interest and high expectations for the center, noting that it will accelerate the societal implementation of Physical AI and help transform the coming era.

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA — Video Message
https://youtu.be/-LQYP8d5_ZA?si=QDyJD5AcQuLYYqDh

Jacques Marescaux, World-Leading Expert in Robotic Surgery — Video Message
https://youtu.be/Zul2MpM9ol4?si=bmUC31JWcNz90VsY

In recent years, advances in AI have generated significant expectations for the application of Physical AI across a wide range of fields, including manufacturing, healthcare, nursing care and mobility. Physical AI refers to AI that autonomously perceives, reasons and makes decisions in real-world environments and takes physical action through machinery; accelerating AI model development for social deployment requires data pertaining to the “real world.”
Kawasaki operates across a broad range of business domains, including aerospace, shipbuilding, energy, plant engineering, and motorcycles. Kawasaki has accumulated diverse operational data and know-how from these manufacturing sites over many years, giving it a strong foundation in the “real world” where Physical AI delivers value. This Center is established to maximize these strengths and serve as a base for co-creation activities with AI development players, going beyond research and proof-of-concept to drive the creation of new business domains and the expansion of existing ones.

Kawasaki has been engaged in the sales and service of robots for semiconductor manufacturing equipment—where it holds a leading global market share—in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley, where this Center is located, is one of the world’s premier regions for the concentration of globally leading tech companies and academic institutions engaged in AI development, attracting cutting-edge technologies, talent, and partners. By leveraging the establishment of the Center, together with collaboration with a variety of tech companies and academic institutions, Kawasaki aims to develop solutions grounded in real-world operations—beginning with the healthcare and nursing care sectors as well as mobility sectors—by combining Physical AI with Kawasaki Group products such as autonomous service robot (Nyokkey), indoor delivery robot (FORRO), and surgical robot system (hinotori™^※), and Robotic Multi-legged Vehicle (CORLEO) .

To accelerate the development of these solutions, Kawasaki will advance collaboration with NVIDIA, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Fujitsu as immediate collaboration themes.

Collaboration Themes

This Center will also collaborate with Kawasaki’s domestic development bases in Japan, which serve as points of contact with markets and customers, as well as with the R&D innovation center “Kawasaki Innovation Centre Europe SAS,” which began operations in Strasbourg, France in March 2026, to accelerate the social implementation of Physical AI by driving the practical deployment of total solutions that incorporate the needs of each region.

To simultaneously address social challenges and achieve sustainable business growth, Kawasaki will continue to make focused investments in high-growth fields such as Physical AI (including healthcare) and semiconductors, leveraging its strengths in the data and know-how accumulated from manufacturing sites over many years.

Overview

※ “hinotori™” is a trademark of Medicaroid Corporation.

Related Links

Kawasaki Establishes First Overseas R&D Innovation Centre “Kawasaki Innovation Centre Europe SAS” (February 26, 2026)
https://global.kawasaki.com/en/corp/newsroom/news/detail/?f=20260226_7797