Agile Robots is building robots with robots at its factory near Munich, Germany, offering a glimpse of what increasingly automated manufacturing could look like. The company, founded in 2018 by CEO Zhaopeng Chen, has deployed more than 20,000 automation systems in factories and warehouses worldwide. Its latest addition is Agile ONE, a 174-centimeter humanoid robot that entered production this year, tells Forbes.com.
Rather than treating humanoids as a standalone answer to factory automation, Agile Robots takes a broader approach. Its portfolio includes robotic arms, dexterous hands, autonomous mobile platforms, conveyors, vision systems, and AI-powered software. Executive director Rory Sexton describes the factory itself as the product, with different forms of automation selected according to the task and potential return on investment.
That philosophy is visible on the production floor. At least two lines manufacturing robot arms and torsos are fully automated, as is testing. Human technicians continue to handle more difficult jobs, including hands and final assembly. Agile Robots expects to ship thousands of systems from Germany this year and believes annual capacity could eventually reach 8,000–9,000 units.
The company also sees flexibility as essential. Sexton envisions robots being leased when manufacturers or logistics companies need additional capacity, then reassigned elsewhere. Such a robots-as-a-service model would require machines capable of performing multiple tasks rather than remaining tied to a single application.
Agile Robots is also taking a pragmatic approach to humanoid design. Its robots use wheels instead of legs, partly because Europe and North America lack established standards for bipedal humanoids working alongside people.
Chen believes Europe still has an opportunity to compete in physical AI because success depends on combining software with hardware and advanced manufacturing. Agile Robots’ strategy is to build that future incrementally, solving practical industrial problems while improving the technology and economics needed for increasingly capable robots.
