GMV discusses the role of robotics and AI in digitalization and business competitiveness at CEOE headquarters

GMV took part in “Robotics, AI, and Digitalization,” a one-day event organized by the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE) and AER Automation, where industry experts examined how these technologies drive business competitiveness and the main challenges of deploying them in industrial settings.

The event, held on October 15, opened with institutional remarks from Josep Aracil, Chair of CEOE’s R&D and Innovation Committee. Carlos Méndez, President of AER Automation, and Álex Salvador, the association’s Managing Director, then presented the World Robotics 2026 report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Key figures included the more than five million industrial robots currently in operation worldwide and the more than 600,000 units installed in 2025, an all-time record.

Miguel Hormigo, Director of GMV’s Industry Sector, took part in the panel discussion “Robotics, AI, and Digitalization: Drivers of Business Competitiveness in Spain,” moderated by César Maurín, CEOE’s Director of Digitalization, Innovation, Trade, and Infrastructure. Alongside representatives from Grupo Álava, ABB Robotics, and Aritex, he addressed issues such as the need to automate industrial processes, cybersecurity challenges, the talent shortage, responses to demographic change, and the position of Spain and Europe in developing and adopting these technologies.

During the discussion, Hormigo stressed that technology deployment must be driven by the needs of each industrial environment: “We have to be smart consumers of the technology available to us and adapt to the specific needs of industry. At GMV, you could say that no two of our robotics projects are alike: we listen to each client’s specific needs and develop every project for its particular use case.” In line with this approach, he also highlighted GMV solutions such as uPathWay®, an intelligent platform for planning, deploying, monitoring, and coordinating missions involving heterogeneous robots and autonomous vehicles from a single, unified environment. Its marketplace makes it possible to add new capabilities tailored to each operation, such as gas detection or moving materials from one part of the plant to another.

GMV’s Industry Sector Director also underscored the importance of building cybersecurity into every initiative from the outset: “Innovation must go hand in hand with cybersecurity by design. Integrating cybersecurity from the earliest phases of every project is essential to protect systems, data, and operations, and to develop robust, reliable solutions that clients can trust.”

GMV’s participation highlighted the importance of combining the potential of robotics and digitalization with a deep understanding of each industrial environment. This approach makes it possible to develop solutions tailored to the use cases of each industry and contributes to safer, more reliable, and more efficient operations.