Prime Highlights
- Google is moving Intrinsic into its main business to make robotics a major AI growth driver.
- Intrinsic will collaborate closely with Google DeepMind to integrate advanced AI into industrial robots.
Key Facts
- Intrinsic’s Flowstate platform simplifies robot app development and partners with firms like FANUC and KUKA.
- McKinsey & Company estimates the general-purpose robotics market could reach $370 billion by 2040.
Background
Google is moving its robotics software unit Intrinsic into its main business, signaling a stronger push into physical artificial intelligence. The company wants Intrinsic to play a role in robotics similar to what Android did for smartphones.
By bringing Intrinsic out of Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division, Google plans to integrate it more closely with Google DeepMind, as well as its cloud and infrastructure teams. Intrinsic will continue to operate under its own brand, led by CEO Wendy Tan White.
Google built its smartphone dominance through Android, partnering with device makers to compete against Apple. Now, it wants Intrinsic to become a common software layer for industrial robots, helping manufacturers build applications without complex coding.
Intrinsic built its platform, Flowstate, to help developers create robot applications using ready-made tools instead of writing thousands of lines of code. The company also shares open-source tools, using a strategy similar to Android’s ecosystem approach.
The robotics market offers large potential. McKinsey estimates general-purpose robots could become a $370 billion market by 2040. Intrinsic already works with industrial robotics companies such as FANUC, Universal Robots, and KUKA.
Google’s recent AI advances strengthen this strategy. In 2025, it introduced Gemini Robotics models and partnered with robotics developers to integrate AI into humanoid systems. Intrinsic’s team will now build on DeepMind’s AI models to bring advanced reasoning into manufacturing and logistics.
Late last year, Intrinsic partnered with Foxconn to deploy AI-powered robots in U.S. factories. As AI demand surges, Google sees robotics as the next major frontier, moving intelligence from digital tools into real-world machines.
