Nvidia Launches Jetson AGX Thor "Robot Brain" for $3,499, Targeting Rapid Robotics Growth

Nvidia has launched its latest robotics chip module, the Jetson AGX Thor, available now as a developer kit priced at $3,499. The company is marketing the chip as a “robot brain,” designed to power advanced robotics systems. The first developer kits will ship next month, enabling companies to prototype and build intelligent robots. Once a company completes development using the kit, Nvidia will offer production-ready Thor T5000 modules for integration into final products. For orders exceeding 1,000 units, the price drops to $2,999 per module, reflecting the company’s push to scale adoption in industrial and commercial robotics. CEO Jensen Huang has identified robotics as Nvidia’s biggest growth opportunity outside of artificial intelligence, a sector that has already driven the company’s sales to more than triple in the past two years. “We do not build robots, we do not build cars, but we enable the whole industry with our infrastructure computers and the associated software,” said Deepu Talla, Nvidia’s vice president of robotics and edge AI, during a press call. The Jetson AGX Thor is built on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture—the same advanced GPU technology powering its latest AI and gaming chips. The module delivers 7.5 times the performance of its predecessor, allowing it to run complex generative AI models, including large language models and visual perception systems essential for humanoid robots and autonomous machines. With 128GB of memory, the chip is well-suited for handling the data demands of cutting-edge AI applications. Major companies including Agility Robotics, Amazon, Meta, and Boston Dynamics are already using Nvidia’s Jetson chips in their robotics projects. Nvidia has also made strategic investments in robotics startups like Field AI, signaling long-term commitment to the space. Despite its rapid growth, robotics remains a small segment for Nvidia, contributing roughly 1% of total revenue. However, the division is expanding quickly. In May, Nvidia consolidated its automotive and robotics businesses into a single unit, which reported $567 million in quarterly sales—a 72% year-over-year increase. While the Jetson Thor is primarily targeted at robotics, it’s also applicable to self-driving vehicles, particularly those from Chinese automakers. Nvidia’s automotive chips, known as Drive AGX, share architectural similarities with the Jetson line but run a specialized operating system called Drive OS, optimized for automotive environments and safety-critical applications.