AI Robotics is a ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Opportunity for Europe, Says Jensen Huang
Autonomous robotics has gained traction in recent years across industrial and tech sectors, courtesy of AI advancements.
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[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR Middle East]
Chipmaker giant Nvidia’s chief, Jensen Huang, believes AI robotics can be a “once in a generation” opportunity for Europe. “You can now fuse your industrial capability, your manufacturing capability, with artificial intelligence, and that brings you into the world of physical AI, or robotics,” he said in an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Europe boasts of a firm industrial manufacturing base.
With industrial and manufacturing giants such as Siemens, Mercedes-Benz Group, Volvo, and Schaeffler, AI robotics presents an opportunity for Europe to “leap past” the era of software, which the U.S has dominated.
Autonomous robotics has gained traction in recent years across the industrial and tech sectors, driven by AI advancements. IBM’s Peter Staar earlier shared, “Robotics and physical AI are definitely going to pick up” in 2026.
Big firms have been betting big in the space: Tesla and Elon Musk with Optimus humanoid robots, Google’s DeepMind released AI models for robotics in 2025, and Nvidia and Alphabet partnering for physical AI in March.
A 2025 Deloitte report revealed that, among 600 executives surveyed, the majority (80%) plan to allocate 20% or more of their improvement budgets to smart manufacturing initiatives, with a focus on foundational tools and technologies.
Robotics has also caught the attention of investors, and according to deal-counting platform Dealroom, companies building robotics raised a record $26.5 billion in 2025.
To leverage the AI opportunity, Huang feels Europe has to “get serious” about its energy supply “so that it could invest in the infrastructure layer, and have a rich ecosystem of artificial intelligence,” Huang said.
The region has some of the highest energy costs in the world. However, it has been dealing with limited access to energy as hyperscalers plan to roll out AI infrastructure across the region. “We’re now a few hundred billion dollars into it. There are trillions of dollars of infrastructure that need to be built out.”
Haung said that AI has started the “largest infrastructure buildout in human history.”
