Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly considering a substantial investment in a humanoid robotics startup, as per Bloomberg. The potential investment amount could reach $500 million for Figure AI, a company aiming to deploy autonomous humanoid workers globally.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Figure AI may be valued at \(1.9 billion following this funding round, potentially becoming the first unicorn in the humanoid robotics sector. OpenAI, known for its investment in 1X Technologies, has already contributed \)100 million to the cause, with ChatGPT being a significant player in the $23.5 million Series A funding.
Founded in 2022 by CEO Brett Adcock, Figure AI has assembled a team of leading robotic experts from renowned companies like Tesla and Boston Dynamics. This move comes amidst projections that robotics, alongside LLMs, will dominate the technological landscape in 2024, with the industry expected to reach a staggering $3 trillion valuation by 2050, according to Nvidia’s senior AI scientist, Jim Fan.
In a recent development, Figure AI secured a partnership with BMW to trial its humanoid robots at a South Carolina facility, focusing on enhancing automotive production processes. Meanwhile, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk hinted at the imminent launch of its humanoid robot, Optimus (also known as Tesla bot), in the coming year.
While Figure AI and Tesla are making significant strides, competitors like Agility Robotics and Apptronik are not far behind, with their robots already undergoing testing in Amazon warehouses.
Despite these advancements, responses from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Figure AI regarding this potential collaboration were not available at the time of reporting by Business Insider.
