MassRobotics announces Physical AI Fellowship powered by AWS Startups, NVIDIA Inception

MassRobotics announced the Physical AI Fellowship, a virtual program powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startups and NVIDIA Inception to help high-potential robotics startups build, refine and scale physical AI offerings.

MassRobotics said the inaugural Fall 2025 cohort includes some of the most promising startups working within physical AI and serving a multitude of industries.

Physical AI continues growth, development

Throughout the program, MassRobotics said that fellows will work one-on-one with scientists and engineers from the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center to refine their physical AI solutions.

“Physical AI is moving intelligent machines from the lab into the real world,” said Tom Ryden, Executive Director at MassRobotics. “This fellowship will give robotics startups the practical support to build, validate and scale by combining AWS’s leadership in AI, NVIDIA’s accelerated computing stack and our robotics expertise and network.”

Ryden was a speaker in the ASRS session of the 2025 Robotics Applications Conference (RAC 25), hosted by Robotics 24/7 and Peerless Media.

Physical AI is becoming increasingly critical to the development of complex hardware, particularly in robotics. MassRobotics said that delivering advanced tools and support to startups will help the AI-powered robotics industry grow exponentially.

At a time when industries are racing to integrate automation, MassRobotics believes that supporting physical AI startups ensures that innovation keeps pace with global demand and unlocks breakthroughs in productivity, safety and operational efficiency across various industries.

"Physical AI is the next frontier of innovation where the intelligence we have advanced in the digital world now shapes how machines interact in the real world," said Tye Brady, chief technologist of robotics at Amazon. "With the tools and guidance from AWS and our partners in this program, these startups will have both the horsepower and playbook to transform bold ideas into automation that will reshape entire industries."

Physical AI Fellowship members

MassRobotics said the Physical AI Fellowship provides deep technical guidance, compute resources and access to a global robotics ecosystem so teams can move from promising prototypes to enterprise-grade deployments. Fellows receive support from AWS Generative AI Innovation Center scientists and experts, AWS credits and NVIDIA resources, alongside access to MassRobotics’ facilities and robust robotics community.

The inaugural cohort includes:

• Bedrock Robotics 
• Blue Water Autonomy 
• Diligent Robotics 
• Generalist AI 
• RobCo 
• Tutor Intelligence 
• Wandercraft 
• Zordi

“NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure and software technologies help companies all over the world simulate, train, and deploy robots safely and more efficiently,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA. “Our collaboration will empower startups with the tools and programs they need to bring the next generation of intelligent machines to market.”

MassRobotics listed the following Fellowship benefits:

• Embedded science and engineering support from AWS to build and refine physical AI technologies.
• Cloud, compute and hardware access, including $200,000 in AWS credits and dedicated support channels.
• Access to NVIDIA’s hardware/software stack, including the NVIDIA Isaac Platform, NVIDIA Cosmos, free self-paced courses and discounted instructor-led workshops from the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute, and preferred pricing for software and hardware via the NVIDIA Inception program for startups.
• Specialized training and webinars with AWS and NVIDIA robotics teams.
• Facilities and tools at MassRobotics for prototyping, testing and integration into the broader innovation ecosystem.
• Opportunities for go-to-market support, including high-visibility showcases at major AWS, NVIDIA and MassRobotics events, joint promotion, and access to customers, investors and collaborators across the MassRobotics community:
  • 100 resident startups, 500+ robotics companies and 30+ corporate sponsors