Caterpillar, the industrial heavyweight, is set to invest $100 million over the next five years to train its 118,000 employees in artificial intelligence (AI), autonomy, and robotics. This investment aims to address the challenge of integrating AI technology into existing workflows and operations, a lesson learned from the company's extensive experience in automating mining sites.
The company is leveraging its background in deploying autonomous machines, such as haul trucks and drilling equipment, to expand its use of AI. This includes tools like the Cat AI Assistant, which allows field technicians to use voice commands for repair procedures and troubleshooting. According to CTO Jaime Mineart, this tool is now in use by customers, operators, and technicians.
Caterpillar also uses AI for scanning sites to generate digital twins in manufacturing and for internal enterprise operations, including software development. Mineart stated that AI agents are used to modernise legacy code, generate and test new software, and identify defects earlier.
The company's second-quarter revenue reached an all-time high of $20.5 billion, partly driven by strong demand for power-generation equipment used in data centres. Sales in its power-generation division increased by 72% to $3.10 billion, with CEO Joe Creed noting continued high demand for cloud computing and generative AI infrastructure.