At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Caterpillar CEO Joe Creed introduced the Cat AI Assistant, a voice-activated operator companion built on NVIDIA Riva open speech models and powered by Caterpillar’s Helios unified data platform. The assistant provides personalized insights on equipment performance, maintenance schedules and parts ordering, delivers real-time coaching and safety alerts in the cab, and integrates with Cat digital applications to streamline diagnostics. Creed highlighted that the technology can process billions of data points per second via the NVIDIA Jetson Thor platform, enabling operators to increase productivity by up to 20% while reducing error rates and downtime.

Caterpillar announced an expanded partnership with NVIDIA to embed AI across its construction, mining and power systems. Key initiatives include the NVIDIA Jetson Thor edge-AI platform for real-time inference on heavy machinery, deployment of digital twins on NVIDIA Omniverse for factory layout optimization, and use of NVIDIA AI libraries to automate forecasting and scheduling in production. Caterpillar’s new AI Factory leverages these capabilities to drive leaner, more resilient supply chains and achieve up to 15% efficiency gains in manufacturing operations.

Caterpillar’s board elected Joe Creed to the role of Executive Chairman, effective April 1, 2026, as D. James Umpleby III retires after a decade of leadership. Creed, who joined the company in 1997 and has served as CEO since 2022, will oversee long-term strategy and technology investments. The transition follows a 2.5-year succession planning process and positions Creed to guide the company’s AI and autonomy initiatives while maintaining close engagement with global dealers and customers.

In his appearance on 'The Claman Countdown,' Creed discussed the 2026 strategic plan, which targets a 10% annual increase in digital and technology investment through 2030 and a five-year, $25 million pledge to workforce training in autonomous systems and data analytics. He also addressed the impact of evolving global trade policies on supply-chain costs and outlined measures to mitigate tariff effects, including supplier diversification and in-region sourcing. With 2024 sales and revenues of $64.8 billion and $30 billion invested in R&D over the past 20 years, Caterpillar is positioned to capitalize on the convergence of AI, autonomy and edge computing across its three core segments.