When most of us think about artificial intelligence (AI), some minds jump straight to the tools we are starting to use every day — large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, or AI-enhanced software that turns words, images, and data into instant insights.
However, there's another side of the AI revolution that's less about code and more about machines: robotics and automation.
This physical layer of AI is already transforming manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and defence — the essential systems that keep economies running. And with reports that Amazon plans to replace up to 600,000 workers with collaborative robots by 2027, it's clear that automation is not a distant concept. It's accelerating now — and it could define the next multi-decade investment opportunity.
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The hardware of intelligence
Unlike AI applications, which can scale overnight with mass user sign-on, robotics adoption is far slower, but potentially more enduring.
Building and deploying robots means re-engineering production lines, upgrading supply chains, and installing sensors and control systems that interact with the physical world. That's why analysts see robotics more like infrastructure than short-cycle technology.
According to research from Global X, automation is set to accelerate as companies respond to ageing populations, labour shortages, and the reshoring of manufacturing. The result is a long, structural demand curve — one measured in decades, not months.
Two ETFs capturing this megatrend
For ASX investors looking to tap into this theme, two global ETFs provide diversified entry points across robotics, automation, and AI hardware.
1. Betashares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX: RBTZ)
RBTZ offers exposure to companies at the forefront of industrial automation, autonomous vehicles, and AI hardware.
Its holdings include global leaders such as Nvidia, and Intuitive Surgical, businesses that design chips, sensors, and robotic systems powering everything from factory automation to surgical precision tools.
The fund's strength lies in breadth. It targets the Indxx Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index, giving investors access to more than 60 companies positioned along the automation value chain.
While past performance doesn't predict future returns, the ETF has benefited from growing global investment in robotics, rising roughly in line with the broader technology sector over the past year.
2. ETFS Robo Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ASX: ROBO)
ROBO takes a slightly different approach, tracking the Global Robotics and Automation Index, which includes firms directly involved in robotics, automation, and enabling technologies such as sensors, 3D printing, and vision systems.
With roughly 100 holdings across 14 countries, ROBO provides one of the most comprehensive baskets of robotics companies available to ASX investors. The ETF's largest geographic exposure remains the United States, but it also captures innovation from Japan, Germany, and Switzerland, nations leading industrial robotics.
The fund's mix of hardware, software, and component makers means investors aren't betting on a single company or region. Instead, they gain exposure to the long arc of automation adoption.
Thinking long term
Investing in robotics, like most things, requires patience.
Unlike consumer software, where user growth can explode overnight, the rollout of robots across industries takes time, planning, capital investment, and workforce retraining.
However, that's also what makes this space resilient. Once automation infrastructure is installed, it becomes a core part of economic productivity for years to come.
The trend is reinforced by demographic and geopolitical shifts. With global labour markets tightening and reshoring efforts gaining momentum, robots are no longer just about efficiency — they're about sovereignty and supply-chain security.
The AI boom won't just play out on screens. It's happening in factories, hospitals, warehouses, and defence facilities.
So for patient investors, the combination of robotics and automation could prove to be one of the most powerful compounding stories of the coming decades.
