đź“Ť Chicago, United States đź“… June 22-25, 2026
For a long time, major industrial fairs dedicated to automation were mainly seen as technological showcases for integrators, robot manufacturers and industrial equipment suppliers. In Chicago, Automate Show 2026 is gradually becoming one of the world’s leading observatories of industrial transformation driven by the convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics, machine vision and software automation.
With more than 1,000 exhibitors and more than 50,000 participants expected, Automate is now billed as the largest event dedicated to automation in North America. The show occupies a particular position in the global ecosystem: where certain events remain focused on research or futuristic demonstrations, Automate primarily deals with the transition to industrial scale.
Automate 2026 covers this entire new value chain: industrial robotics, cobots, autonomous systems, industrial vision, motion control, AI applied to manufacturing and factory software infrastructures. But what particularly distinguishes the 2026 edition is the rise in importance of subjects linked to physical artificial intelligence and humanoid robots.
The show notably introduces a “Humanoid Robot Forum” dedicated to the industrial uses of humanoid robots, proof that the subject is gradually leaving the experimental field to enter the operational reflections of manufacturers, who are now looking for systems capable of interpreting their environment, making decisions and interacting with complex infrastructures in real time.
The 2026 edition of the show particularly highlights this convergence between AI and industrial automation. The demonstrations no longer focus solely on the mechanics or speed of the robots, but on their ability to function as autonomous systems capable of coordinating perception, reasoning and action.
Behind this technological evolution is also a much broader geopolitical transformation. The United States is now seeking to maintain its lead in software, artificial intelligence and industrial digital infrastructure, while China is aggressively accelerating on robotic manufacturing production and large-scale industrial capabilities.
Automate thus constitutes an excellent barometer of American industrial priorities. The companies present cover the entire ecosystem: ABB Robotics, FANUC, Cognex, Siemens, General Motors, Microsoft, Intrinsic and many specialists in industrial vision and autonomous systems.
One of the most interesting aspects of the show, however, remains the place taken by the invisible infrastructures of automation. This change appears clearly in the conferences planned during the event. Automate 2026 plans more than 140 sessions dedicated to industrial automation, autonomous systems, AI applied to operations and new industrial architectures.
The show also plays an important role in structuring the American startup ecosystem around robotics and automation. The “Start-Up Challenge” highlights young companies developing industrial AI, autonomous robotics or software automation solutions.
This growing presence of startups reflects another major trend where the automation market is no longer limited to large historical integrators and where a new generation of players is now trying to build software layers capable of automating industrial operations using general AI models.
