The Railroads of Robotics: Investing in Physical AI, Cobots, and the Reshoring Boom

The Railroads of Robotics: Investing in Physical AI, Cobots, and the Reshoring Boom

From Money On Tap by Ben Brayshaw & Seth Krussman

May 12, 2026 · 56 min · Season 11 · Episode 399

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of robotics and automation on manufacturing and investment opportunities in the sector.

4.3 million industrial robots are already deployed globally. Robot costs have dropped 50% in 30 years. Payback periods are now 1 to 3 years. The reshoring of American manufacturing isn't a forecast — it's a buy order.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon continue the series with The Railroads of Robotics — the picks-and-shovels playbook for physical AI and the next great industrial build-out.What you'll learn: Why three forces — reshoring, labor shortage, and 1–3 year robot payback — make automation inevitable The four investable layers: robots · AI systems · software · hardware A walk-through of the public names: Rockwell Automation, Teradyne, Emerson Electric, NVIDIA, Tesla (Optimus), AeroVironment, Applied Materials, Autodesk How cobots are reshaping skilled-trades work — and what the NVIDIA CEO's "three-day work week" prediction really means Five robotics-themed ETFs walked through: ROBO, BOTZ, IBOT, ARKQ, ROBT What to tell the kids and grandkids about which jobs will actually exist in 10 years The geopolitical risk that could shelve this entire build-out overnight Plus Money In The News: United Airlines hikes fares up to 20% — CEO admits passing 100% of…

People in this episode

Host: Ben Brayshaw

Guest: Dan Michelon

Topics covered

  • robotics
  • automation
  • investing
  • manufacturing
  • cobots
  • reshoring

Keywords

  • industrial robots
  • automation
  • robot payback
  • cobots
  • ETFs
  • investing
  • reshoring
  • labor shortage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rockwell Automation, Teradyne, Emerson Electric, NVIDIA, Tesla, AeroVironment, Applied Materials, Autodesk, United Airlines, SpaceX

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