In this annual Year in Review podcast (Episode 225), host Steve Crowe is joined by the entire Robot Report editorial team—Mike Oitzman, Eugene Demaitre, and Brianna Wessling—to break down the most impactful events in robotics from 2025. The team discusses the highs and lows of the robotics industry from the past year, including major bankruptcies, significant acquisitions, and the geopolitical factors reshaping manufacturing and defense.
The episode also features insights from industry leaders on the explosion of humanoid robots, advancements in physical AI, and the evolution of autonomous systems.
A recap of an eventful year in robotics
Here are some of the topics that Steve, Mike, Gene, and Brianna discuss:
- iRobot bankruptcy: A deep dive into iRobot filing for Chapter 11 and its subsequent acquisition by a Chinese creditor, including the roles played by regulators and internal management.
- Zebra Technologies: Discussion on the company winding down its Fetch-based mobile robot group.
- Major acquisitions: Analysis of deals including ABB selling its robotics unit to SoftBank for $5.4 billion.
- Intel spins out RealSense: How independence could enable faster execution and innovation for the vision-based sensor company.
- The year of the humanoid? A look at the more than $3.5 billion invested in humanoid companies in 2025 (including $1 billion to Figure AI) and the surge in embodied AI.
- Amazon‘s milestones: Updates on the Vulcan robot and the company deploying its 1 millionth robot.
- Waymo’s scaling pains: Issues facing the autonomous vehicle developer as it continues to grow its robotaxi fleet, including incidents with school buses and power outages in San Francisco.
- Defense and geopolitics: How wars in Ukraine and Gaza have permanently changed the role of autonomous systems on the battlefield.
- Home robotics: New approaches to home automation from companies like 1X, Sunday Robotics, and Weave Robotics.
Show timeline and guests
This episode features the voices of several industry leaders:
- 4:49 – Evan Helda, head of AI for Nebius, on data engines, world models, and pipelines for feeding complex AI systems
- 26:22 – Chris Matthieu, vice president of the developer ecosystem at RealSense, on open-source brains for physical AI and the rise of robot sports
- 43:48 – John Santagate, founder and principal consultant of warehouse automation consultancy EMP Advisors, on the three monumental moments of 2025 (humanoids, tote-to-person, and multi-agent orchestration)
Thanks again to these individuals and all our guests on The Robot Report Podcast in the past year! We wish all our listeners Happy Holidays, and we look forward to continuing to share more conversations in 2026!
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