Future of the factory: The emerging technologies defining next-generation manufacturing

We explore the evolution of the factory and the technologies propelling it forward, from generative AI-powered humanoid robots to the industrial metaverse.

The factory of tomorrow will look very different from the factory of today, driven by advances in artificial intelligence, automation, computing power, and connectivity.

Humans will still play a crucial role — but instead of assembling parts or operating machinery, they will maintain robots and keep them running.

In these future factories, robots coordinate in unison, completing work automatically — without breaks, every hour of the day — to get products out the door.

Meanwhile, intelligent AI systems oversee the entire manufacturing value chain, from the output of the mines to stock at the retailers. Quantum computers run detailed simulations and continuously optimize it all.

And when disaster strikes — from a fire at a key supplier plant to geopolitical shifts that disrupt global supply chains — the AI systems rapidly recommend solutions to business leaders. All it takes is one word to redirect everything automatically.

This is the future of the factory, and it’s coming sooner than you think.

Below, we identify the technologies that will shape the factory of the future. We use the CB Insights technology intelligence platform to analyze key business signals such as company maturity and momentum, business relationships, and earnings calls.

Key takeaways

Software is eating the factory, as AI advances lead to new capabilities in everything from factory analytics to autonomous agents.
Factory robotics enter a new era with generative AI, resulting in faster processing of complex tasks while facilitating fleet management and natural language understanding.
The industrial metaverse enables next-generation factory optimization, as advanced simulations and digital twins allow for rapid design iterations and process modeling.
The Industrial Internet of Everything (IIoE) will connect the entire factory value chain, from the output of mines to the stock at retailers and everything in between.
Supercomputers and quantum computing will bring unprecedented processing power, supporting a more connected factory ecosystem and allowing the IIoE to reach its full potential.