LAS VEGAS – Caterpillar Inc. announced a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous innovations at CES, positioning the heavy equipment manufacturer at the forefront of industrial automation as it seeks to transform traditional machinery into intelligent, connected systems.
The company’s new Cat AI Assistant, a voice-enabled system built on NVIDIA Corp.’s Jetson Thor physical AI platform, is being piloted in the mid-size Cat 306 CR Mini Excavator, with plans to roll it out across multiple product lines including excavators, dozers, compactors, loaders, and haul trucks.
The AI assistant allows machine operators to execute commands, access information, receive safety tips and schedule services through voice interaction.
The system is powered by a fleet of AI agents and collects valuable operational data, with Caterpillar’s machines currently transmitting approximately 2,000 messages per second back to the company. This data stream feeds into another pilot program using NVIDIA’s Omniverse simulation platform to create digital twins of construction sites, enabling better project planning and material estimation.
Caterpillar CEO Joe Creed emphasized the company’s role in supporting the technology sector’s physical infrastructure during a CES keynote presentation on Wednesday. He noted that every device, data center and power system depends on minerals, construction and infrastructure that Caterpillar equipment helps create — what he called “the invisible layer of the tech stack.”
“The biggest bottlenecks in technology today, they’re not in software. They’re actually in the physical world,” Creed said. “AI needs more chips and chips need minerals pulled from the ground. Data centers need power, more than today’s grids can provide. The entire digital economy needs infrastructure that can be built faster, run harder, and stay online no matter what.”
The news builds on Caterpillar’s existing autonomous vehicle operations in the mining sector. Hootman described the construction equipment initiatives as providing a technological foundation for further automation across the company’s portfolio.
The company joins other industrial manufacturers at CES 2026, including Deere & Co., Oshkosh, Siemens, Bosch, Kubota, Doosan and Hyundai, reflecting the technology industry’s increasing convergence with traditional industrial sectors.
Caterpillar’s collaboration is part of NVIDIA’s broader physical AI strategy. Bill Dally, NVIDIA’s chief scientist, recently identified physical AI as the next frontier for the chipmaker.
“NVIDIA is pioneering that with computers train the models, that do the simulation to test the models and deploy the models into the robots, whether [that’s] an autonomous car or a Caterpillar machine,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA.
Caterpillar’s stock has performed strongly, reaching an all-time high of $627.50 on Dec. 12. Analysts have taken note of the company’s position in AI infrastructure buildout, particularly its role as the world’s largest manufacturer of high-power diesel generators for data center applications.
Mizuho Securities analyst Jordan Klein called Caterpillar one of his “favorite non-tech 2026 long ideas,” citing its exposure to AI data center construction and power generation as key growth drivers.
