LAS VEGAS, NV. (25 News) – Caterpillar is taking a major step into the artificial intelligence era with an expanded partnership with chipmaker NVIDIA announced at the Consumer Electronics Show.
25 News reports Caterpillar CEO Joe Creed was the keynote speaker at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Wednesday, where he announced the creation of an AI ecosystem for machines, job sites, factories and supply chains.
“As AI moves beyond data to reshape the physical world, it is unlocking new opportunities for innovation — from job sites and factory floors to offices,” Creed said.
The collaboration will utilize NVIDIA’s Jetson Thor platform to enable real-time AI inference on Cat construction, mining and power equipment, laying the foundation for next-generation autonomy and intelligent in-cab experiences.
Caterpillar said the platform will provide customers with personalized insights and use voice activation to enable settings, guide troubleshooting and connect users to the right resources across Cat apps and websites. The platform will bring AI-driven recommendations to construction and mining machines, capable of processing billions of data points in milliseconds to navigate complex, variable job site conditions.
Machines powered by AI, machine learning, computer vision and edge computing will process sensor data in real time and serve as a digital nervous system for customers’ job sites.
During the keynote, the screen showed a real-time feed of a Cat 306 CR Mini Excavator with an operator who asked the Cat AI Assistant, “Hey Cat, how do I get started?”
The on-machine AI system responded in a natural voice and on screen, guiding the operator on how to use the excavator. The operator also used the on-machine AI to set a 13-foot ceiling for makeshift overhead lines, and the system prevented the operator from getting too close to those lines.
NVIDIA said NVIDIA Riva handles speech, using NVIDIA Nemotron speech models for fast and accurate natural voice interactions. Qwen3 4B, served locally via vLLM, interprets requests and generates responses with low latency. No cloud link required.
Caterpillar’s Helios data platform supplies trusted machine context.
“For a century, Caterpillar has built the industrial machines that shaped the world,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “In the age of AI, NVIDIA and Caterpillar are partnering across the full spectrum – from autonomous construction fleets to the AI data centers powering the next industrial revolution.”
Caterpillar is also piloting factory digital twins, built on NVIDIA Omniverse libraries and OpenUSD, of multiple U.S. sites manufacturing building and construction products as well as large mining machines. These digital twins allow people to simulate line changes, test scheduling scenarios and optimize material flow before any physical retooling takes place.
Recognizing the need to prepare workers for AI-enabled systems, Caterpillar announced it is pledging $100 million over five years for workforce training and education. This includes a $25 million Global Workforce Innovation challenge to identify and scale solutions that prepare workers for the next generation of AI-enabled industrial systems.
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