Upstream Brings Automotive-Scale Intelligence to the Physical AI Era

Building on years of experience securing and monitoring connected and autonomous vehicles, the most advanced Physical AI systems in commercial operation today, Upstream extends its live digital twin technology to support robots, humanoids, drones and industrial machines

BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Upstream, the behavioral intelligence platform trusted by the world's leading automotive OEMs, smart mobility stakeholders, EV charging, and more, today announced the expansion of its platform beyond connected vehicles into the broader Physical AI market. Upstream's digital twin infrastructure, proven across more than 40 million connected assets, will now support  robots, drones, humanoids, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and agriculture equipment, as well as other autonomous machines entering commercial production and scale-up.

Physical AI, the technology that allows smart devices to sense, reason and act in the physical world, is projected to attract more than $500 billion by 2030, according to PwC, with significant upside potential as systems scale and mature. The report also notes that in the next 3-5 years, deployments are expected to transition from early pilots to massive commercial implementations. Goldman Sachs frames the opportunity more broadly, noting that software represents just 0.5% of global GDP, with the remaining 99.5% representing the value Physical AI is positioned to unlock.

Connected Vehicles are the Operational Foundation for Physical AI

"Connected and autonomous vehicles are among the most advanced Physical AI systems operating at commercial scale today," said Yoav Levy, co-founder and CEO of Upstream. "Over the past decade, we've built automotive-grade technology together with the automakers themselves, and proven it across tens of millions of connected assets in one of the most demanding environments for security, safety and reliability. As we enter the Physical AI era, we're expanding that proven technology and expertise to robots, humanoids, drones and other autonomous machines."

Critical Timing: The EU Cyber Resilience Act Impact on Physical AI

Upstream's expansion comes as reporting obligations under the EU Cyber Resilience Act take effect. As of September 2026, manufacturers of connected products, a category that now explicitly includes robots, drones and other physical AI devices sold or operated in the EU, are required to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe security incidents within 24 hours of discovery, followed by full notification within 72 hours.

For Physical AI companies that have not yet built the continuous monitoring and telemetry infrastructure needed to meet those deadlines, the requirement creates an immediate operational gap. Upstream has spent years helping automotive OEMs meet comparable obligations under UNECE WP.29 R155 and ISO/SAE 21434, and views the Cyber Resilience Act as a turning point for Physical AI stakeholders, much like the one automakers faced years ago. They can build real-time visibility into device and fleet behavior now, or try to create it for the first time under regulatory deadline pressure.

Powering Physical AI with Live Digital Twins

At the center of Upstream's platform is the live digital twin, a continuously updated behavioral representation of every connected machine and the digital ecosystem around it.

Upstream's hardware- and protocol-agnostic architecture transforms complex telemetry from vehicles, robots, drones, humanoids and industrial machines into live digital twins without requiring software agents on the device. The platform can operate within the customer's cloud environment and offers the flexibility to work with various frontier and open-weight AI models, helping organizations maintain control and sovereignty over their data.

By combining telemetry, operational state, mission context, software activity and anomalies, Upstream enables organizations to understand not only what happened, but how a machine is behaving and why.

That behavioral context powers four critical applications across Physical AI:

• Cybersecurity, detecting anomalous or malicious behavior
• Quality and safety, identifying emerging issues before they become failures or recalls
• Operations, improving fleet health, utilization and uptime
• Compliance, maintaining continuous visibility and auditable evidence across connected products

The result is a common intelligence layer for the increasingly complex fleets of autonomous machines.

The company will continue to grow its automotive business alongside its Physical AI practice, applying the same live digital twin infrastructure across both markets.

To explore Upstream's expanded coverage and platform capabilities, visit www.upstream.io.

About Upstream

Upstream delivers a cloud-based, AI-powered behavioral intelligence platform purpose-built for the Physical AI ecosystem, including connected vehicles, smart mobility, robots, smart industrial equipment, drones, and more. By fusing telemetry from millions of connected assets, such as vehicles, robots, drones, humanoids and other autonomous machines, into live digital twins, Upstream equips enterprises with AI-driven applications spanning cybersecurity detection and response (XDR), vehicle and device quality monitoring, operational observability and intelligence, as well as regulatory compliance.

Upstream is backed by Alliance Ventures (Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi), Volvo Group, BMW, Hyundai, MSI Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Salesforce Ventures, Cisco Investments, Glilot Capital Partners, Maniv Mobility, and more.

Learn more at www.upstream.io.

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SOURCE Upstream