🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Hexagon’s robotics push meets Baker Hughes’ portfolio simplification

• The deal serves specific goals for each company.
• Baker Hughes is selling Waygate while simplifying its portfolio. In its 2025 annual report, Baker Hughes called data centers a growth area and said it went from no data center orders in 2024 to US$1 billion in 2025 1.
• Hexagon can fold Waygate into its Robotics division, launched in March 2025 to develop autonomous solutions for industrial customers 2.
• Hexagon has leaned on acquisitions for growth, completing more than 200 deals over 21 years to fill product gaps and speed its technology roadmap 3.

Automation becomes the answer to an aging industrial workforce

• The purchase fits a wider shift toward automation as inspection staffing gets tighter.
• Non-destructive testing (NDT) inspects equipment and materials without damaging them. Nearly 30% of the certified NDT workforce was over the age of 50 in 2024 4. Separate market analysis cites a scarcity of Level III inspectors, the most highly qualified certification tier, plus rising labor costs. It also claims hourly rates for nuclear and aerospace Level III professionals have increased by 15–20% annually since 2023 5.
• With Waygate, Hexagon gains inspection technologies suited to more automated workflows. Updated AI techniques were cited as increasing defect detection rates by about 34% while reducing false alerts by over 13% compared with previous models 4.
• NDT and industrial inspection are consolidating, which can favor companies that combine equipment, certified inspectors, and software platforms over rivals dependent on a shrinking pool of specialized workers 5.