机器人公司Agility Robotics即将成为首家在美国上市的人形机器人专营企业，这标志着这一新兴类别的一个重要里程碑，尽管该领域仍有许多方面有待证明。这家初创公司将于周四在纳斯达克开始交易，股票代码为“AGLT”，此前已与特殊目的收购公司Churchill Capital Corp. XI完成合并。据一份声明，该公司在扣除费用前手头约有4.65亿美元，其中包括由富士康领投的约2.01亿美元私募股权投资公开投资。
Robotics Inc. is set to become the first dedicated humanoid company to go public in the US, marking a major milestone for the emerging category that still has a lot to prove. The startup begins trading Thursday on Nasdaq under the ticker “AGLT” after merging with special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp. XI. The company has about $465 million on hand before expenses, including a roughly $201 million public investment in private equity led by Foxconn, Apple Inc.'s main iPhone assembly partner, according to a statement.
富士康是苹果公司iPhone的主要组装合作伙伴。其他知名支持者还包括英伟达、亚马逊和软银愿景基金2期。Agility是众多开发人形机器人的公司之一。人形机器人是模仿人类形态、直立行走或依靠轮子移动的机器人。迄今为止，这些机器主要应用于仓库和工厂等商业场景。中国公司宇树科技于8月在上海上市，但Agility是同类公司中首家在美国上市的企业。
Other high-profile backers include Nvidia Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Agility is among a crop of companies developing humanoids, human-inspired robots that stand erect and can walk or roll on wheels. So far, these machines have mainly found use in commercial settings such as warehouses and factories. Chinese firm Unitree went public in Shanghai in August, but Agility is the first of its peers to do so in the US.
这家总部位于俄勒冈州的初创公司约有400名员工，目前正在扩大与GXO Logistics的合作，在更多设施部署其机器人，同时还在与AGCO Corp.开展一项制造试点。
The Oregon-based startup, which has about 400 employees, is expanding a relationship with GXO Logistics Inc. to deploy its robots at more facilities, and is also working on a manufacturing pilot with AGCO Corp.
首席执行官佩吉·约翰逊在接受采访时表示：“我认为更大的故事可能是人工智能走出数字世界后接下来会发生什么。”她指的是人工智能如今正在机器人和其他硬件中得到应用。“将智能机器人引入更多工作场所是一个真正的机遇，当机器和人真正协同工作时，这将从根本上改变可能实现的事情。”
“I think probably the bigger story is what comes next as AI moves beyond the digital world,” Chief Executive Officer Peggy Johnson said in an interview, referring to the ways artificial intelligence is now being implemented in robots and other hardware. “There's a real opportunity to bring intelligent robots to more workplaces, and it's fundamentally going to change what's possible when really machines and people are working together.”
Agility 认为其最新人形机器人 Digit 5 有助于填补劳动力短缺，尤其是在仓库领域。这款于 9 月发布的新型号旨在执行复杂作业，例如将材料装载到设备上、分拣零件和检查物品。相比之下，早期的 Digit 4 只能处理堆叠塑料箱等较简单的任务。新型号还能在靠近人的环境中安全作业，而之前的迭代版本必须在实体安全围栏后运行，限制了它们从人类手中接手任务的能力。
Agility sees its latest humanoid, Digit 5, helping fill labor shortages, particularly in warehouses. The new model, which was unveiled in September, is designed to conduct complex work such as loading materials onto equipment, sorting parts and inspecting items. By comparison, the earlier Digit 4 could handle simpler duties, such as stacking plastic bins. The new model can also safely work in close proximity to people, whereas the previous iterations were required to operate behind physical safety barriers, limiting their ability to take on tasks from humans.
Agility 表示，已获得超过 3 亿美元的 Digit 5 多年承诺订单。该公司的人形机器人已被 9 家客户投入使用，并正与 30 多家潜在商业客户进行活跃的销售洽谈。这家初创公司已承诺在 12 家客户设施部署 Digit，目标是到 2027 年底建立涵盖汽车、零售、制药等各行业的 100 家潜在客户管道。约翰逊引用了德勤 2024 年的一项研究称，预计到 2033 年，美国无法填补的制造业空缺职位数量将增至约 190 万个。
Agility said it has more than $300 million in committed multi-year orders for the Digit 5. The company’s humanoids have been put to use by nine customers, and active sales discussions are underway with over 30 prospective commercial clients. The startup, which has commitments to deploy Digit at 12 customer facilities, has a goal of ending 2027 with a pipeline of 100 potential customers across various industries such as automotive, retail and pharmaceuticals. Johnson cited a 2024 Deloitte study saying that the number of open US manufacturing jobs that can’t be filled is expected to grow to about 1.9 million by 2033.
“Digit 擅长填补的劳动力缺口还在不断扩大，”Johnson 表示，她此前曾担任增强与混合现实公司 Magic Leap 的首席执行官。“许多公司不清楚如何招到人手来完成那些难以招人且流失率较高的任务。”
“The labor gap that Digit is so good at filling just continues to grow,” said Johnson, who previously served as CEO of augmented and mixed reality company Magic Leap. “Many companies are unclear how they're going to get the help to come in and do these tasks that are hard to fill and have a higher attrition rate.”
Johnson 认为，随着华尔街适应这一新品类，仍将经历一个教育过程。但她表示，公司应按与其他自动化技术提供商相同的指标来评估，包括高吞吐量和准确性。“我认为真正值得关注的是，Digit 5 可以通过空中升级（OTA），所以我们可以教会它新技能，”她说。“随着这些额外部署收集的数据越多，所有这些就越会转化为训练的飞轮效应。”
Johnson believes there will still be an education process as Wall Street adjusts to a new category. But she said the company should be rated on the same metrics as other providers of automation technology, including high throughput and accuracy. “I think what will be really interesting to watch is the fact that Digit 5 can be upgraded over the air, so we can teach it new skills,” she said. “The more data we collect with these additional deployments, the more all of that turns into a flywheel of training.”
目前，像 Digit 5 这样拥有双腿的人形机器人带来了一些独特挑战，特别是它们不如轮式同类设备可预测，对人类构成更大的安全风险。Johnson 表示，她因上市感到一定压力，“因为我们是第一个出发的，将成为其他公司参照的对象，不仅在这些指标上，也包括安全方面。”但她补充说，公司在过往各种环境的运营中学到了很多。
For now, humanoids with legs like Digit 5 present some unique challenges, particularly that they’re less predictable and pose a bigger safety risk for humans than similar devices with wheels. Johnson said she feels some pressure from going public “because we are the first out of the gate and will be the company that others are looking to, not only for those metrics but also safety.”But the company has learned a lot over past operations in various environments, she added.
“演示能展示可能性，但部署才能真正教会你什么行得通，过去三年里我们学到了很多，”她说。“我们能够走进这些设施，承担真实工作并因此获得报酬。”
“A demo can show what's possible, but a deployment really teaches you what works, and we've learned a lot over the past three years,” she said. “We are able to step into these facilities and take on real work and get paid to do it.”