How Digit Is Solving the Labor Shortage | Peggy Johnson, CEO @ Agility | Abundance Summit 2026

In this talk

1. 0:35

   Why Peggy joined Agility

   Johnson says her electrical engineering background and interest in advanced hardware drew her to robotics. Earlier in her career, she saw the mobile industry shift from voice phones to pocket computers while working at Qualcomm.

2. 1:18

   Digit targets hard-to-fill work

   Johnson says AI has made it faster to teach Digit new skills than when each action had to be programmed by engineers. Designed for manual, repetitive jobs, Digit can handle heavy items and work in facilities built for people. She estimates U.S. logistics and warehouse roles have about one million vacancies, driven in part by demanding jobs and an aging workforce.

3. 4:21

   Training and safety in workplaces

   Agility used reinforcement learning for Digit’s movement and operation, and Johnson says the company remains flexible about which large language models it uses. It teaches skills through demonstrations and teleoperation, then operates autonomously in facilities. Johnson says the company aims to have a safety-certified humanoid by year-end that can lower itself safely if a person approaches.

4. 8:13

   Commercial scale and customer demand

   Digit weighs about 200 pounds and can lift around 35 pounds; the fifth generation is expected to handle 50 pounds. Agility’s Salem, Oregon factory has capacity for up to 10,000 robots annually. Johnson expects the fifth generation, planned for next year, to enable deployments beyond work cells, with production reaching hundreds and eventually thousands.

5. 12:00

   U.S. industry and funding

   Johnson says U.S. officials are discussing ways to support domestic humanoid robotics supply chains, rather than subsidies. She expects the market to include distinct robot types for industrial work and home use. Agility has generated some revenue and plans to raise funds later in the year; Johnson puts its valuation at about $2 billion.