In a strategic move to streamline its robotics ambitions, Google is folding Intrinsic, a former “moonshot” robotics software venture, back into its core operations under parent company Alphabet.
Intrinsic spent 5.5 years developing robotics software at Alphabet’s innovation lab, X, before becoming an independent entity under the “Other Bets” division in July 2021. On Wednesday, Alphabet confirmed that the company will now operate within Google.
While robotic hardware such as arms has become more affordable, programming remains complex. It often requires hundreds of hours of manual coding by specialized engineers, with customization varying by robot type.
Intrinsic’s main product, Flowstate, is a web-based platform designed to help users build robotic applications without writing thousands of lines of code. The company said the move to Google will expand its ability to scale and deploy advanced AI-driven robotics solutions.
“Joining Google allows us to amplify our collective work across frontier AI spanning R&D through to deployment and daily operations enabling industrial use cases in manufacturing and logistics,” the company said in its announcement. It added that the platform will leverage Gemini models, Google Cloud and collaborate closely with Google DeepMind.
The integration positions robotics software as a core enterprise priority for Google, strengthening its competitive stance against companies such as Amazon and Tesla. It also signals Google’s intent to scale robotics solutions more aggressively while aligning closely with its AI research teams.
In November, Intrinsic and Foxconn, a key supplier to Nvidia, announced a partnership to deploy AI-powered robots for electronics assembly in Foxconn’s U.S. factories.
Intrinsic CEO Wendy Tan White said the transition will accelerate adoption of physical AI. By leveraging Google’s AI capabilities and infrastructure, the company can “unlock the promise of physical AI for a much broader set of manufacturing businesses and developers.”
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