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WorkFar Robotics has announced that it has reached the mass production stage for its humanoid service robots without the financial backing of venture capital, marking a distinct departure from the industry norm. Operating out of Santa Clara, California, the company has developed a business model centered around providing industrial humanoid robots as part of a subscription-based service, targeting manufacturing and warehouse clients.

Global spending on data centers is projected to grow by 15% to $367 billion in 2025, marking the most substantial increase among IT industry segments, according to data from AltIndex.com. The sector’s expansion is driven by demand for cloud computing, growing data volumes, and the widespread adoption of AI.

Geek+ has announced an upgraded Robot Management System (RMS) aimed at addressing the increased demands of the holiday season. The enhanced RMS, which can coordinate over 5,000 robots and process up to 10,000 tasks per second, is designed to improve the efficiency of high-volume logistics operations during peak periods.

AI-driven platforms can optimize thousands of energy data points in shopping malls and have cut down energy waste by 29% in a Lithuanian shopping center. Research reveals that the majority of shopping centers lack retrofits that could improve energy efficiency by 75%.

Robotics integrator RobotLAB has announced a partnership with Vision Aerial, a manufacturer of industrial drones. This collaboration expands RobotLAB’s portfolio to include eight unmanned aerial systems tailored for business, government, and educational use. Among the new offerings are systems designed for applications such as surveying, construction, solar inspection, and agriculture.

Oriental Motor has introduced the OVR Series small industrial robots, developed for handling small parts in industrial applications. These robots are built using the company’s AlphaSTEP AZ Series Hybrid Step-Servo technology and are designed to provide a cost-effective and user-friendly alternative within the market for small industrial robots.

Pickle Robot Company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has announced the completion of a $50 million Series B funding round. Participants in the funding round included a strategic customer, Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, Third Kind Venture Capital, One Madison Group, Hyperplane, and Catapult Ventures, among others. The funding aims to accelerate the company’s technological development and commercial expansion.

A team of researchers in China has successfully performed a remote robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy over a distance of 1,200 kilometers, marking a milestone in the application of telemedicine and robotic surgery. The procedure utilized the Edge Multi-Port Endoscopic Surgical Robot MP1000 (Edge MP1000) and 5G communication technology, with details of the case published in the journal Intelligent Surgery.

TrendForce has outlined 10 key trends shaping the technology landscape in 2025, including AI robots, AI PCs, AI servers, HBM, AR and VR headsets, autonomous vehicles, batteries and energy storage.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China highlighted the transformative role of artificial intelligence and robotics in the financial industry at the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit. Co-hosting the Fintech Forum on “Fintech in the Digital Intelligence Era,” Ping An presented cutting-edge innovations in AI-driven technologies designed to enhance operational efficiency, customer experiences, and risk management in finance.