Robots for America Launches National Coalition to Advance U.S. Robotics Deployment Policy

On May 8, 2026, a coalition of robotics and automation companies launched Robots for America (RFA) at the SCSP AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C. The group was formed following direct requests from officials at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Senate.

The coalition's founding members include Formic, Machina Labs, Standard Bots, Robot.com, Dexterity, Path Robotics, Chef Robotics, GrayMatter Robotics, Mytra, Mujin, Viam, and the Digital Manufacturing & Cybersecurity Institute. The full membership list is available at robotsforamerica.org/members.

According to the official press release, the coalition was organized to deliver a unified policy platform for mobilizing automation across American manufacturing. This represents a shift from legacy trade associations to a practitioner-led group with direct experience deploying robots on U.S. factory floors.

Saman Farid, CEO of Formic and RFA Founding Member, stated: "The U.S. has every ingredient it needs to lead the next era of manufacturing. The companies, the technology, the facilities are all here. What has been missing is a coordinated policy framework that removes the real barriers standing between American manufacturers and the automation they need."

The coalition's initial policy framework targets five specific areas where federal action could drive near-term impact. These include lowering the financial risk of robotic trials, modernizing how automation is treated under the tax code, streamlining permitting and regulatory approvals, building the workforce needed to support deployment, and enabling autonomous logistics across the supply chain.

Small and mid-size manufacturers face particular challenges. They lack the capital to acquire and deploy automation, the runway to endure long implementation lead times, and the training needed to overcome the steep learning curve of making automation effective in-house (a problem that has plagued users for years, frankly). RFA exists to change all three.

Edward Mehr, Founder and CEO of Machina Labs, argued during the launch panel: "It is time for the government to step into the supply chain and set requirements for what manufacturing looks like in 10 to 20 years. To say: I want manufacturing to be flexible, adoptable, deployable. They need to start thinking about what type of manufacturing we need in the future."

Nick Ayala, Director of Strategy and Operations at GrayMatter Robotics, added: "The days of being okay with missed deadlines are over." The physical reality of factory operations—missed shipments, labor shortages, rising operating costs—creates pressure that policy alone cannot solve without coordinated industry action.

Over the next three years (2026 to 2028), Robots for America will focus on establishing robotics as a recognized pillar of U.S. industrial policy, creating real representation for American factory operators in Washington, changing the public conversation around automation from fear to facts, and opening access to automation technology for the mid-market manufacturers who need it most.

The coalition is currently forming steering committees across policy, technology, narrative, and operations. They are actively welcoming new founding members, manufacturing members, and advisors. More information is available at robotsforamerica.org.

Physical AI has created an inflection point. Capabilities that were out of reach just years ago are now deployable on real factory floors, and the pace of what's possible is accelerating. The question is whether policy can move fast enough to match the technology.

Whether Congress actually acts on these recommendations remains the real question. Policy frameworks are easy to write; getting them through committee is another matter entirely.

Artūras Malašauskas is an AI Systems Integrator with 20+ years of production-grade web engineering experience. He has designed, shipped, and scaled enterprise Python/PHP systems for logistics, SaaS, and public-sector clients. For the past year, he has focused exclusively on AI integrations: deploying open-source LLMs, building generative media pipelines (image, audio, video), and engineering multi-agent workflows for real production environments. His standard: reproducibility, security, cost-efficient inference—no vaporware. He documents and evaluates emerging AI tooling, separating verified capabilities from marketing noise. Technical editor at: muza-ai.eu, ai-verslas.lt, ai-naujinos.lt Connect on LinkedIn