The FCC just cleared its first foreign factory robots, from ATi Robotics
As everyone in the space knows, the FCC added robots to its national security watchlist this summer. That means every connected, ground-mobile robot made outside the US now faces the same kind of federal scrutiny that Huawei and ZTE triggered for telecom equipment.
We just had the first company pass through that filter.
ATi Robotics, an Indian-origin AMR and industrial humanoid company now headquartered in Madison Heights, Michigan, became the first robotics company to clear that process. The FCC published ATi's conditional approval on October 30, 2026 (DA 26-1181), covering 5 platforms:
- Sherpa Mecha
- Sherpa 10K
- Sherpa 3K
- Sherpa FlexFork 1500
- Sherpa FlexFork 3000
Why factory robots are on the telecom security list
A connected mobile robot navigating a factory floor collects detailed maps of facility layouts, production line configurations, throughput patterns, and inventory movements.
That data has obvious intelligence value. The same reasoning that led the US to block Huawei from critical communications infrastructure applies when a foreign-made sensor-laden robot is roaming a defense contractor's factory.
The definitional trigger is deliberately inclusive: weight above 4.4 lbs (almost any real robot), sensors (essentially all robots), 200-plus kbps connectivity (any robot with Wi-Fi or cellular), and not a vehicle, aircraft, underwater device, medical device, or stationary industrial arm. If a foreign company is making mobile robots with connectivity and selling them in the US, they are in scope.
"Foreign-produced" uses the Buy American Act's definition: manufactured without sufficient domestic content.
The domestic content threshold starts at 65% of component cost in 2026 and rises to 75% in 2029.
Who ATi Robotics is
Founded in 2017 in Bengaluru by CEO Saurabh Chandra, ATi Robotics builds factory-hardened autonomous mobile robots and the Sherpa Mecha industrial humanoid. ATi has completed 2 million-plus autonomous missions across 70-plus factories worldwide, claims a 99% mission success rate, and deploys in an average of under 4 weeks.
Clients include Forvia, Hyundai, TVS Motor, and CEAT.
Total funding is $37 million:
- $20M Series B in January 2025 led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital
- $11M Series A in 2023
- $4M pre-seed in 2021
The Sherpa Mecha is a wheeled industrial humanoid (not bipedal) with dual 19-DOF carbon-fibre arms, adjustable height from 1,100 to 2,000 mm, 12 kg payload at full extension, and 1.5 m/s travel speed. It navigates autonomously using 3D LiDAR and cameras, targeting unstructured factory environments where fixed-path AMRs cannot operate.
What "conditional approval" means in practice
The approval is not unconditional.
The DoW conditional approval almost certainly includes ongoing reporting requirements, data handling restrictions, and the right to revoke if security conditions change. Neither ATi nor the FCC has published the full terms.
That opaqueness is likely intentional: publishing the conditions would effectively publish a checklist for adversaries.
The practical effect for ATi is the ability to continue US sales without interruption. For every other foreign robot company watching this space, it establishes that the approval process is navigable but real: not a rubber stamp, not an impossible bar, but something that requires genuine engagement with US national security apparatus.
That's good news, frankly. There was some speculation that this whole FCC exercise was a soft way to slam down a hard gate on all foreign machines. That now seems to not be the case.
The implications for Chinese robot companies
Chinese humanoid and AMR companies are expanding aggressively into US markets.
Unitree, AgiBot, Fourier, and Leju are all actively seeking US distribution and partnerships. Under the Covered List framework, every one of them needs to either obtain a Department of War conditional approval or manufacture with sufficient US domestic content to fall outside the "foreign-produced" definition.
That is a significant structural barrier.
The DoW approval process is not designed to be fast or easy for Chinese state-linked companies. The same political dynamics that blocked Huawei from US networks will apply, often more forcefully, to Chinese robot companies with PLA connections or government investment.
ATi's approval shows the path exists for some companies. It does not show the path is open for all companies.
Sources
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I tell stories with data and build startups. I've raised angel and VC funds, led software companies and startups, and chronicled the rise of the mobile economy. Currently I write for Forbes, host several podcasts, and am starting up HumanoidMegaHub. I was TUNE's mobile economist and Singular's VP of Insights, built the research team at VentureBeat, and managed teams creating software for partners like Intel and Disney. In past lives I built websites, e-learning platforms, and mobile apps, and, a long time ago, was named to Folio's top 100 of the media industry's "most innovative entrepreneurs and market shaker-uppers.”