Insider Brief
- India-founded Ati Robotics has secured conditional U.S. national security clearance for five industrial robot platforms, exempting them from the FCC Covered List and preserving their eligibility for U.S. equipment authorization.
- The approval covers the Sherpa Mecha humanoid, Sherpa 10K and 3K autonomous tuggers, and Sherpa FlexFork 1500 and 3000 forklifts, with Ati claiming Sherpa Mecha is one of only two humanoids cleared to date.
- Ati reports a 99% mission success rate across its robotic portfolio and average deployment times of four weeks or less, while expanding its Michigan operations and planning U.S. manufacturing.
India-founded Ati Robotics has received conditional U.S. national security clearance for five industrial robot platforms, allowing the company to continue seeking the equipment authorization required to sell its machines in the United States.
According to the company, the U.S. Department of War approved exemptions from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List for its Sherpa Mecha humanoid robot, autonomous tuggers and forklifts.
The FCC published the approval Oct. 30 under Ati’s U.S. legal name, ATI Motors Inc. The company noted that Sherpa Mecha is one of only two humanoid robots to receive clearance and the only one designed for factory operations.
Ati develops its own autonomous navigation and fleet management software, allowing it to manage the technology used across its robotic platforms. The company maintains its U.S. headquarters in Madison Heights, Michigan, where it provides customers with deployment support, maintenance services and spare parts.
“Ati Robotics has always prioritized building the robots ground up and having deep control over the components,” founder and CEO Saurabh Chandra said in the announcement. “We were already working on our plans to make these robots in the US and had taken a larger site in Michigan earlier this year. The FCC action simply reinforces our belief that autonomous robots are strategic technology and must be treated as such by enterprises.”
The approval covers five platforms:
- Sherpa Mecha: A dual-arm mobile robot designed to navigate factory floors, retrieve bins and handle parts.
- Sherpa 10K and Sherpa 3K: Autonomous tuggers used to transport materials, with the Sherpa 10K capable of moving loads up to 10,000 pounds.
- Sherpa FlexFork 1500 and 3000: Autonomous forklifts designed to move pallets and carts.
The robots use Ati Flow, the company’s software platform for coordinating material movement across industrial facilities. Ati reported a 99% mission success rate across its robotic portfolio in daily production operations, with average deployment times of four weeks or less.
National Security Review
Since July 28, 2026, foreign-produced advanced robotic devices have been subject to the FCC Covered List unless they receive clearance through a national security review, according to Ati. The conditional approval keeps the five platforms eligible for FCC equipment authorization, which is required for distribution in the U.S. market.
“This year, our U.S. customers kept asking a common question before payload or price: ‘will this robot be cleared to ship and be serviced long term’?” added Siddharth Bhagra, Ati’s vice president of sales. “For Mecha, the Sherpa 10K and FlexFork, this approval confirms this clarity. Our customers will continue to partner with Ati Robotics for their automation needs – with more confidence than ever.”