Robot Maker Kuka Eyes US, Asia as Europe Lags Behind on AI

Many of Europe’s industrial companies are too slow to adopt artificial intelligence, putting faster-moving global rivals in a position to overtake them, according to German-Chinese robotics maker Kuka SE & Co.

The burden of legacy systems and a reluctance to change mean many factories remain disconnected and make poor use of their data, said Chief Executive Officer Christoph Schell. Kuka, bought by China’s Midea Group Co. in 2016, supplies the likes of Volkswagen AG and Airbus SE with industrial robots that handle production line tasks.