Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) shares climbed Wednesday after the tech giant announced a robotics partnership that sounds like it walked straight out of a sci-fi novel, except this time it's actually happening.
According to a release from measurement technologies firm Hexagon, the two companies are teaming up to accelerate the development of humanoid robots using AI and cloud tools. Yes, we're talking about actual humanoid robots working on factory floors.
How This Partnership Actually Works
Hexagon Robotics and Microsoft will collaborate on adaptive robots designed specifically for manufacturing and inspection tasks. The goal is to support data-driven production and AI-based automation across multiple industries, with executives highlighting their focus on imitation learning and reinforcement learning as the core technologies.
The partners plan to scale what they're calling "physical AI" using multimodal vision-language-action models. That's a fancy way of saying these robots will be able to see, understand language, and take action based on what they learn. The collaboration aims to combine Hexagon's sensor fusion and spatial intelligence capabilities with Microsoft's cloud platforms, specifically leveraging Azure services including real-time intelligence and IoT operations tools.
Initial deployments will target automotive and aerospace customers, though the companies also have their sights set on broader manufacturing and logistics use cases. Hexagon says its AEON humanoid robot has already demonstrated real-time defect detection and operational intelligence capabilities.
Arnaud Robert, president of Hexagon Robotics, said the partnership supports his vision for autonomy and could help address labor shortages in critical industries. Aaron Schnieder, vice president of engineering and emerging technologies at Microsoft, emphasized the industrial impact, noting that Azure's scale combined with AEON's capabilities can help customers deploy adaptive humanoid robots at scale.
What the Charts Say About Microsoft
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is showing mixed technical signals right now. The stock is trading 1.2% above its 20-day simple moving average, which suggests some short-term strength. But it's sitting 1.1% below its 50-day SMA and 2.9% below its 100-day SMA, pointing to overall weakness in the medium to long term.
The RSI stands at 43.80, which is neutral territory. That means the stock isn't overbought or oversold, basically lacking strong momentum in either direction at the moment. The MACD is below its signal line, indicating bearish pressure and suggesting traders should watch for potential downward movement.
Key support sits at $471.00, while resistance is at $489.50. If the stock approaches support, it could signal a potential reversal or trend change. A breach of resistance might indicate continuation of upward momentum.
The golden cross back in June, when the 50-day SMA crossed above the 200-day SMA, was a bullish signal at the time. However, the stock's current positioning relative to its moving averages suggests traders should stay vigilant for potential trend shifts.
Over the past year, MSFT has gained 15.58%, reflecting a solid longer-term trend despite recent volatility. The stock is currently trading at 68.1% of its 52-week range, placing it closer to its highs than its lows. This positioning suggests there's some strength, though the stock may be facing resistance as it approaches the upper end of its range.
MSFT Price Action: Microsoft shares were up 2.15% at $488.81 at the time of publication on Wednesday.