The Humanoid and Robotics Revolution (Paperback)

While much of the current excitement around artificial intelligence is focused on software and data, robotics is quietly emerging as one of its most transformative – and underestimated – beneficiaries.  The fusion of advanced mechanical engineering with AI is enabling robots of all shapes and sizes to become genuinely mobile, and capable of performing a vast array of repetitive tasks traditionally carried out by humans.

From crop picking and security to elderly care, delivery services, domestic chores and even medical procedures, robots are rapidly becoming indispensable across numerous sectors.  They offer a compelling value proposition: they work tirelessly, 24/7, without complaint, are non-unionised, and are significantly more cost-effective than their human counterparts.

It is no surprise, then, that Citibank projects robotics to become a multi-trillion-dollar industry by 2050, even suggesting that robots may outnumber humans on the planet within a few short years.  This is not merely a trend – it represents a profound shift in how we approach labour, productivity the future of work.  In my long investment career, few sectors have matched the sheer potential and excitement that robotics now presents.

Jim Mellon is a British entrepreneur, investor, and author, with interests in a number of sectors. He has substantial real estate assets in Germany and the Isle of Man, as well as holdings in private and public companies through the Burnbrae Group, his private investment company.

After leaving Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, he worked in Asia and the United States in two fund management companies, GT Management and Thornton Management (Asia) Limited, before founding Regent Pacific Group Limited in 1991, subsequently quoted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Jim spends most of his time investigating and working on start-up ideas, inspired by his ability to identify technologies and companies that will reshape people’s lives, before they start trending. His investment philosophy of focussing on these hyper-innovative technologies and novel companies has led him to be recognised as one of the most successful investors of his generation.

He is the author of several books, mostly written with a view to identifying emerging thematic trends leading to early-stage investment opportunities. Notably, in his book Wake Up! Survive and Prosper in the Coming Economic Turmoil (2005), he forecast the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. His book Juvenescence: Investing in the Age of Longevity (2017) played a role in bringing ageing research into the mainstream. It led to the formation of the company of which he is co-founder and chairman, Juvenescence Ltd, which develops therapies that will enable people worldwide to live longer, healthier lives.

Jim is deeply passionate about the fight against animal cruelty.  He is a pescatarian and dog-lover and has set his eye on the alternative proteins space having come to realise the alarming level of food scarcity in the world and the environmental damage industrial farming has done to our planet.  He is the founder and director of Agronomics, a London-listed investment company which is building a portfolio of investments in the most promising companies in the field of clean food.

Mr Mellon is the executive chairman of the board of Manx Financial Group plc, and he is also a non-executive director of Bradda Head Investments and Chairman of Regent Pacific Group.

Jim is a co-founder and trustee of The Longevity Forum and the Longevity Biotechnology Association. He is also on the Board of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. He is a Fellow of Oriel College, University of Oxford.