Securing America’s future through robotics and advanced manufacturing

Physical AI at scale will define the next industrial era. The United States remains at the frontier of many of the technologies that form the “brain” of modern robotics—including artificial intelligence, computer vision, autonomy, and software—but it has not yet translated those strengths into comparable capacity to build, deploy, and sustain robotic systems at scale.

The National Security Commission on Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing is developing a practical blueprint to reverse this trajectory and secure lasting American industrial leadership.

October 2026 · Preliminary findings

Our Preliminary Report

This Preliminary Report presents the National Security Commission on Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing’s initial diagnosis of the United States’ position at the convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.

Read the report

About the Commission

The National Security Commission on Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing is a non-partisan group of leaders from manufacturing, technology, academia, research, investment, workforce development, and national security.

The Commission was established to help ensure that the United States leads the next era of robotics and advanced manufacturing. It brings together expertise from across the public and private sectors to develop actionable recommendations for expanding robotics adoption, strengthening domestic production and critical supply chains, building the necessary workforce, and sustaining American innovation.

The goal is not to replicate a top-down, state-directed model. It is to mobilize America’s own strengths—private-sector dynamism, world-leading research, deep capital markets, regional manufacturing ecosystems, and skilled workers—to build, deploy, and sustain the technologies that will shape the next industrial era.

Co-Chairs

Sen. Ted Budd

United States Senator, R-NC

Sen. Elissa Slotkin

United States Senator, D-MI

Ylli Bajraktari

President and CEO, SCSP

The Full Commission

A non-partisan group of leaders with deep experience developing, financing, producing, deploying, and governing robotics and advanced-manufacturing technologies.

Peter Barrett

Co-Founder & General Partner, Playground Global

Heather Carroll

Chief Revenue Oﬃcer, Path Robotics

Michael Cicco

President & CEO, FANUC America

Dr. Torsten Kroeger

Chief Science Oﬃcer, Intrinsic

Rev Lebaredian

Vice President of Physical AI Simulation, Nvidia

Anne Neuberger

General Partner and Head of Global Aﬀairs, Andreessen Horowitz, Fmr. Deputy National Security Advisor for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies

Dr. Chinedum Okwudire

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, University of Michigan

Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds

Professor of the Practice, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Brendan Schulman

Vice President of Policy & Government Relations, Boston Dynamics

Keith Strier

Senior Vice President of Global AI Markets, AMD

Josh Tavel

Senior Vice President of Manufacturing & Product Engineering, Research & Development, General Motors

Dr. David Van Wie

Director, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Chris Walti

Co-Founder & CEO, Mytra

Four Pillars

National Framework

Create durable American leadership and industrial capacity in robotics and advanced manufacturing. Align private-sector dynamism with strategic public goals and turn fragmented federal initiatives into coherent, predictable signals that industry can act on.

Innovation Ecosystem

Translate America’s leadership in artificial intelligence and robotics software into strength across hardware, critical components, and supply chains. Pair sustained innovation with strategic investment to close commercialization gaps, lower costs, and expand domestic production.

Talent Pipeline

Build and sustain the workforce needed to design, manufacture, operate, and maintain increasingly capable robotic systems. Expand credible pathways into technical careers, align education and training with shop-floor needs, and help incumbent workers develop the skills to work alongside advanced technologies.

Adoption at Scale

Expand robotics adoption across the American manufacturing base. Reduce capital, integration, readiness, and knowledge barriers—particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturers—and create the conditions for sustained demand and continuous improvement.