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We declared 2023 the year of the humanoid, but 2024 has already said, “Hold my beer.” You likely read leaked reports about this last week, but today Figure AI Inc. confirmed that it has raised $675 million to develop humanoids.
With the Series B funding, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company is now valued at $2.6 billion. Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest were among the investors. Qatalyst Partners provided strategic and financial advice to Figure.
Figure has been on a blistering path to market since it exited stealth mode in January 2023. The company was co-founded in 2022 by CEO Brett Adcock, a startup veteran with two successful exits under his belt. Adcock asserted that time to market and hiring the right people are two keys to the success of any startup.
Figure said it plans to use the funding to grow its AI training, manufacture more robots, and hire the engineers necessary to get production units to market in the 2024-2025 timeframe.
“Our vision at Figure is to bring humanoid robots into commercial operations as soon as possible,” Adcock said in a release. “This investment, combined with our partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft, ensures that we are well-prepared to bring embodied AI into the world to make a transformative impact on humanity. AI and robotics are the future, and I am grateful to have the support of investors and partners who believe in being at the forefront.”
Adcock builds on experience, teamwork
Adcock previously founded Vettery and Archer Aviation. Vettery is an online talent marketplace that Adecco Group acquired in 2018 for $100 million. And Archer Aviation is a publicly traded company that is developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Before Adcock started Figure AI, he visited the AMBER bipedal robotics lab of Aaron Ames at Caltech. Ames is one of the early researchers in bipedal walking mechanics and was a student of Marc Raibert, who founded Boston Dynamics in 1992 and is largely responsible for the development of the ATLAS humanoid. Adcock wanted Ames’ advice on how difficult it would be to commercialize a humanoid robot.
Figure has hired industry veterans such as Jerry Pratt from Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). Pratt brings more than 20 years of experience in humanoid development to Figure as chief technology officer. He was also associated with Raibert’s MIT Leg Lab.
Figure said the knowledge and experience of its team of about 80, which also includes veterans from Boston Dynamics, Google DeepMind, and Tesla, have helped accelerate its bipedal walking development. Its stated goal is autonomous, general-purpose humanoid robots to address labor shortages, unsafe or undesirable jobs, and global supply chain needs.
A startup mature beyond its years
The Robot Report visited Figure AI in October 2023 to meet Adcock and see its humanoid robot for the first time. I was impressed by the organization of the company‘s product prototyping process. What I witnessed was a methodical approach to iterative development that included an in-house CNC metalworking shop and a 3D-printing farm.
To help accelerate software development and debug all of the electrical control systems, the lab included a completely deconstructed robot. The robot was dissected with all of its electrical systems arranged across a table. For any engineer who has tried to troubleshoot a complex electromechanical system, this is a well-known best practice.
Figure AI timeline
- May 2022: Brett Adcock founds Figure AI.
- January 2023: Figure exits stealth mode.
- April 2023: Figure raises $70 million in Series A funding.
- May 2023: Figure 01 takes first steps; Brett Adcock on The Robot Report Podcast.
- July 2023: Figure raises venture round of $9 million.
- October 2023: First video and images of Figure 01 prototype posted.
- January 2024: BMW announces that it will test Figure 01 at an automotive plant.
- February 2024: Figure raises $675 million in Series B funding for $754 million to date, according to Crunchbase.
Last year, nearly a dozen companies worldwide emerged to pursue the humanoid robot dream. In about 21 months, Figure has been able to go from nothing to a walking humanoid prototype.
In January 2024, BMW began testing a Figure robot at its automotive factory in Spartanburg, S.C. This milestone made Figure the second company to land a humanoid pilot with a high-profile client. Agility Robotics announced in late 2023 pilots with both Amazon and GXO Logistics.
Note that Figure is also the second humanoid developer to get funding from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. The Amazon investment arm was part of Agility’s Series B in April 2022.
Figure and OpenAI to collaborate on AI
Figure AI said it will work with OpenAI on the next generation of AI models for humanoids. This will be done by combining OpenAI’s language research with Figure’s robotics hardware and software expertise.
“We’ve always planned to come back to robotics, and we see a path with Figure to explore what humanoid robots can achieve when powered by highly capable multimodal models,” stated Peter Welinder, vice president of product and partnerships at OpenAI. “We’re blown away by Figure’s progress to date, and we look forward to working together to open up new possibilities for how robots can help in everyday life.”
Back in 2019, OpenAI demonstrated impressive in-hand manipulation skills with the ability to solve a Rubik’s cube using neural networks. In mid-2021, the company abandoned research into robotics hardware in favor of AI research. In addition, OpenAI was among the funders of humanoid developer 1X Technologies.
Figure said it will use Microsoft Azure for AI training, storage, and servers.
“We are excited to work with Figure to speed up research into AI breakthroughs,” said Jon Tinter, corporate vice president of business development at Microsoft. “Through our work together, Figure will have access to Microsoft‘s AI infrastructure and services to support the deployment of humanoid robots to assist people with real-world applications.”
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