EY has announced the global rollout of a new physical artificial intelligence (AI) platform, alongside the opening of a dedicated EY.ai Lab and the appointment of a new global leader for robotics and physical AI, signalling a major expansion of the firm’s AI capabilities.
The new platform is being accelerated by NVIDIA AI infrastructure and software and is designed to support organisations deploying AI systems that operate in real-world environments.
Physical AI combines artificial intelligence with robotics, drones and smart-edge devices to carry out physical tasks across a range of industries.
EY said the platform will provide a structured framework to help organisations design, implement and manage physical AI systems at scale.
It is built around three core elements: AI-ready data, including the use of synthetic data to simulate real-world scenarios; digital twin creation and robotics simulation using NVIDIA Omniverse libraries to bridge digital and physical environments; and responsible physical AI, with guardrails focused on safety, ethics, compliance and operational resilience.
The firm said its physical AI solutions will span the full lifecycle of deployment, from strategy and design through to implementation, safety and ongoing maintenance, with a focus on sectors including industrials, energy, consumer products and health.
Brian Moroney, EY Ireland Partner and Head of Digital & Emerging Technologies, said: “Organisations are increasingly viewing the potential of physical AI – and robotics as candidate tools for optimising operations and addressing key challenges such as supply chain volatility, and rising costs.
“Here in Ireland, the initial focus appears to be on collaborative robots (cobots) and AI-enhanced systems, and we are already exploring opportunities with clients to integrate these technologies into their operations.
“In our AI Lab in EY Dublin, we are helping clients identify physical AI value cases and pilot physical AI robots, giving them a practical pathway to adoption.
“It’s in this context that EY globally, in partnership with NVIDIA, has announced the rollout of a new physical AI platform and the appointment of an EY Global Robotics and Physical AI leader, to support organisations in taking structured approaches towards implementing and managing AI systems executed by robots, drones, smart-edge devices and more.”
Eoin O’Reilly, EY Ireland Partner and Head of AI & Data, said: “Physical AI represents the next stage in the evolution of artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
“Organisations are moving beyond traditional automation to robotics and AI systems that interact with the physical world, and they are racing to understand how this technology can deliver real business value.
“In Ireland, we see growing interest in this space and are working every day with organisations to help them learn quickly and build the capability to use AI responsibly and at scale.
“By leveraging insights from our EY global network, we will help Irish businesses prepare to stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.”
At a global level, Raj Sharma, EY Global Managing Partner – Growth & Innovation, said: “Physical AI is transforming how businesses across sectors operate and help create value, from enhanced automation and greater efficiency to significantly helping reduce operational costs.
“By combining deep EY industry knowledge with NVIDIA AI infrastructure, this new platform is expected to accelerate how EY helps clients orchestrate these developments responsibly and support them to take the leap from experimentation to enterprise-scale deployment.”
EY also announced the appointment of Dr. Youngjun Choi as EY Global Physical AI Leader.
Choi will oversee EY’s next-generation robotics and physical AI work and lead the newly opened EY.ai Lab in Alpharetta, Georgia, the firm’s first facility dedicated entirely to integrating AI into physical environments.
