January 2026 marked a pivotal turning point in the development of artificial intelligence. AI is evolving from an “interactive tool” into a “physical entity” capable of fundamentally transforming all industrial sectors—especially manufacturing. Physical AI and the Robotics Era Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, announced at CES 2026 that “the ChatGPT moment for robotics has arrived,” signaling a mass transition of AI from the virtual space into the physical world. NVIDIA introduced a series of open models for physical AI, including the Cosmos models capable of understanding the world and generating action plans, as well as Isaac GR00T N1.6, dedicated to humanoid robots. The new Jetson T4000 module, based on the Blackwell architecture, delivers four times higher energy efficiency and AI compute performance compared to the previous generation, priced at USD 1,999 (for orders of 1,000 units). Global companies such as Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar, Franka Robotics, LG Electronics, and NEURA Robotics presented a new generation of robots powered by NVIDIA technologies.

For the last two decades, most digital innovation has focused on mass-market IT: e-commerce, social platforms, and office SaaS. But the largest untapped opportunities now lie in highly specialized, industrial domains — where processes are physical, regulated, and operationally critical. Manufacturing, energy, logistics, and infrastructure do not need more generic software. They need systems that understand how the real world of machines actually works. That is where the next decade of industrial innovation will be built.

Industry doesn't need another technological revolution, but predictability and measurable ROI. Most Web3 initiatives in manufacturing never escape pilot phase because they solve problems plants don't actually have.