What Is Physical AI? Nvidia Is the Stock I’d Buy to Own It.

What Is Physical AI? Nvidia Is the Stock I’d Buy to Own It.

By Daniel Sparks, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-10-10 00:01:00

Physical AI is the name Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) uses for artificial intelligence (AI) that works in the real world instead of onscreen. Picture the software that lets a warehouse robot lift a box, or a car steer itself through traffic. A chatbot just has to write an answer, but physical AI has to see what’s around it and then choose what to do.

Rivals want in. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) said on Sept. 28 that it had agreed to buy World Labs, a start-up that makes AI models of 3D spaces and tools for training robots, in an all-stock deal worth around $8.2 billion.

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But for Nvidia, physical AI is still a small business in a huge firm. Its automotive revenue was around $2.35 billion over the 12 months through late January 2026 (Nvidia’s fiscal 2026), or about 1% of its total revenue of $215.9 billion. Even Nvidia’s broader physical AI number, around $6 billion in fiscal 2026, is below 3% of sales.

That doesn’t worry me. Actually, I think that’s one reason Nvidia is the simplest way for investors to own this trend.

Image source: Nvidia.

Nvidia already sells to robot and car makers

A physical AI system needs a few things. Its AI model has to be trained, which takes racks of powerful data center chips. It helps…