NXP at 20: Why Physical AI Is Moving Intelligence to the Edge
As NXP marks its 20th anniversary, CTO Lars Reger looks ahead to a new era of Physical AI: intelligent systems that sense, think, connect and act directly in vehicles, factories, buildings and infrastructure.
In a conversation published on September 24, 2026, Lars Reger, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at NXP, explains why the next major wave of innovation will increasingly unfold at the intelligent edge. The original article was written by Paige Iven, Manager, Corporate Communications at NXP Semiconductors.
From Connected Systems to Systems That Act
When Reger joined NXP in 2008, one of the industry’s main goals was to build the connected world. Today, cars are becoming software-defined, factories more autonomous, and buildings increasingly able to sense conditions, interpret data and react in real time.
Reger describes this as the transition to Physical AI: systems that sense, think, connect and act directly in the real world.
Why the Edge Matters
Real-world systems need fast, local and energy-efficient decisions. If every sensor event or machine state had to travel to the cloud before action could be taken, latency, bandwidth, connectivity and energy consumption would quickly become limiting factors.
NXP therefore sees the future as increasingly distributed. Time-critical decisions can be processed locally, while more complex tasks or aggregated information move to centralized systems. Reger compares this to the human nervous system: not every response requires the brain.
For Wireless IoT, this is a fundamental shift: sensors and wireless technologies are becoming part of systems that recognize situations, make decisions and trigger actions directly at the edge.
Low Power Is the New Superpower
Energy efficiency is central to this transformation. As billions of connected devices become more intelligent, more computing power alone will not be enough.
Reger summarizes the challenge with a clear principle: “Low power is the new superpower.”
The goal is to deliver the right intelligence at the right place and time while using as little energy as possible.
Physical AI Requires More Than Compute
For NXP, bringing AI into the physical world requires more than processing performance. Physical systems must also sense their environment, connect securely, operate safely and respond reliably in real time.
That means combining processing, sensing, connectivity, cybersecurity, functional safety and power management.
The edge is central to this architecture. Local processing can reduce latency and energy consumption, maintain operation when cloud connectivity is weak or unavailable, and reduce the amount of sensitive data that must travel across external networks.
From Connectivity to Autonomy
NXP’s first 20 years were shaped by secure connectivity, smart access, automotive networking, electrification, radar and industrial automation. Now these technologies are converging.
Sensors capture what is happening. Connectivity links devices and machines. Edge processors interpret data. AI supports decisions. Actuators turn those decisions into action.
For NXP, this marks the transition from connected systems to increasingly autonomous ones.
The first 20 years were about connecting the physical world. The next 20 will be about making it more intelligent, secure, efficient and autonomous.
Discover 20 Years of NXP Innovation
Explore the full 20 Years of NXP journey and read the original interview by Paige Iven with Lars Reger: https://www.nxp.com/company/about-nxp/smarter-world-blog/BL-NXP-20-YEARS-EDGE-INNOVATION
Talk to NXP About Your Next Edge Project
From intelligent sensing and secure connectivity to low-power processing and edge AI, NXP technologies are helping bring intelligence directly into the physical world.
Connect with NXP experts to discuss the technologies and architectures for your next intelligent edge application.